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Proposed Mission
Caring for soil is caring for life
Ensure 75% of soils are healthy by 2030 for food, people, nature and climate
Report of the Mission Board for Soil health and food
Caring for soil is caring for life – Ensure 75% of soils are healthy by 2030 for food,
people, nature and climate
European Commission
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
and
Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
Directorate B — Quality, Research & Innovation, Outreach
Unit B2 — Research and Innovation
Contact Kerstin Rosenow, Annette Schneegans
Email [email protected]
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Manuscript completed in September 2020.
First edition.
Authors – Mission board members: Cees Veerman (Chair), Teresa Pinto Correia (Vice-chair), Catia Bastioli,
Borbala Biro, Johan Bouma, Emil Cienciala, Bridget Emmett, Emile Antoine Frison, Alfred Grand, Lachezar
Hristov Filchew, Zita Kriaučiūnienė, Marta Pogrzeba, Jean-François Soussana, Carmen Vela Olmo, Reiner
Wittkowski.
This document has been prepared for the European Commission, however it reflects the views only of the
authors, and the European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this
publication.
More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).
Print ISBN 978-92-76-21603-2 doi: 10.2777/611303 KI-02-20-673-EN-C
PDF ISBN 978-92-76-21602-5 doi: 10.2777/821504 KI-02-20-673-EN-N
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020
© European Union, 2020
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Image credits:
Page 27: © Arianna Pasa, Salon de l’Agriculture 2020
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Caring for soil is caring
for life
Ensure 75% of soils are healthy by 2030
for food, people, nature and climate
Mission Board for Soil health and food
This document is the Mission Board’s proposal to the European Commission for a mission in the area of Soil health and food.
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation 2020 Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development
2
Table of Contents
CITIZEN SUMMARY ...................................................................................... 3
1 The mission explained .............................................................................. 5
1.1 Our vision – what do we want to achieve? 5
1.2 Why do we need healthy soils? The need for a mission 8
1.3 A novel approach to soil health 10
1.4 Support to the Sustainable Development Goals and to EU policies 12
2 The mission portfolio – scope and building blocks ........................................ 15
2.1 Co-creation of knowledge and innovation in living labs and lighthouses 16
2.2 Efficient soil health monitoring 18
2.3 Research needs for soil health innovation 19
3. Training, education, communication and citizen engagement ......................... 25
3.1 Training and education 25
3.2 Communication and citizen engagement 26
4. A supportive environment for healthy soils and societal benefits .................... 28
4.1 Creating enabling conditions 28
4.2 Synergies with other missions and EU programmes 29
4.3 Timeline of activities 31
References .................................................................................................. 32
ANNEXES ................................................................................................................. 34
Annex 1 Review of the evidence base: status of soil health across Europe in 2020 ............. 34
Annex 2 Indicators for soil health in support of the mission ............................................. 44
Annex 3 Alignment and support of the mission to EU policies and strategies ...................... 47
Annex 4 Proposed soil relevant indicators for SDG Goals ................................................. 50
Annex 5 The mission as a response to the corona pandemic ............................................ 52
Annex 6 Communication and citizen engagement ........................................................... 55
Annex 7 Potential mission support from EU and national programmes and initiatives ......... 67
Annex 8 A Manifesto for citizens .................................................................................. 72
3
CITIZEN SUMMARY
Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. The soil under our feet is a living
system – home to many fascinating plants and animals, whose invisible
interactions ensure our well-being and that of the planet. Soils provide us with
nutritious food and other products as well as with clean water and flourishing
habitats for biodiversity. At the same time, soils can help slow the onset of climate
change and make us more resilient to extreme climate events such as droughts
and floods. Soils preserve our cultural heritage and are a key part of the
landscapes that we all cherish. Simply put, healthy living soils keep us, and
the world around us, alive.
However, we tend to take these benefits for granted and as a result have
neglected the health of our soils. The increasing demand for land for urban
development and infrastructures is consuming many of our most fertile soils. At
the same time, inappropriate or unsustainable use of soil and how we deal with
our waste is affecting soil health, which in turn, disrupts the capacity of soils to
carry out the vital services that they perform. Climate change is putting
further pressure on soil health.
Why do we need to act now? Soils are fragile and they can take thousands of
years to form but can be destroyed in hours! This means that we need to take
care of soils now so that they can be regenerated and safeguarded for future
generations.
Soil degradation is largely driven by how we live. Left unchecked, it will aggravate
many challenges facing the European Union. It is no surprise that soil condition
is at the heart of the new Green Deal for Europe and the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals, both of which aim to reduce biodiversity loss
and pollution, reverse climate change while striving for a healthy environment
and sustainable land use. The Mission will also have a major role in responding
to risks from the coronavirus and other emerging infectious diseases.
Some of the microbes which live in the soil are one of our most promising sources
of new therapeutic drugs.
The mission “Caring for Soils is Caring for Life” will raise society’s
awareness of soils and put Europe on a path towards sustainable land
and soil management. The mission will be a joint endeavour, bringing in people
from all walks of life, be they farmers, foresters, urban planners, scientists,
business communities, politicians or citizens including the consumers, we all are.
Together, all of us will help to design and apply solutions to achieve the main
goal of the mission which is: By 2030, at least 75% of soils in each EU
Member State are healthy, or show a significant improvement towards meeting accepted thresholds of indicators, to support ecosystem
services.
4
Mission activities will bring communities together to work with land managers to
co-create new knowledge and innovation, training and advice tailored to different
local realities. These activities will be focussed around “Lighthouses” and “Living
labs”, enabling validation and demonstration of good practices and widespread
uptake of solutions. In addition, the mission will develop improved ways for
monitoring the status of soils, mobilise investments, encourage changes in
policies and behaviour and ensure we do not export our soil degradation
problems to other countries around the world.
Through actions that restore degraded land, empower land managers to
sustainably use the soil and create the conditions to reward soil health, the
mission will have wide-reaching impacts on food, people, planet and the
climate.
While previous missions brought us to the moon, Caring for Soils is a mission
that will keep us safely on Earth with healthy soils!
5
1 The mission explained
1.1 Our vision – what do we want to achieve?
In the context of this mission, soil health has been defined by the Board as ”the
continued capacity of soils to support ecosystem services1, in line with the
Sustainable Development Goals and the Green Deal”.
Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. Soil provides food, clean water and
habitats for biodiversity while contributing to climate resilience. It supports our
cultural heritage and landscapes. Although as citizens we pay very little attention
to soil, it is a fragile resource that needs to be carefully managed and safeguarded
for future generations. One centimetre of soil can take hundreds of years to form
but can be lost in just a single rainstorm. Even where soil degrades more slowly
hidden beneath our feet, the effects are severe and difficult to reverse. Our
evidence shows that 60-70% of EU soils are unhealthy. This affects safe food
production and what nature provides for humanity to survive.
The proposed mission will shed light on this vital, almost unrecognised resource
and put Europe on a trajectory towards sustainable land and soil
management as part of a wider, green transition. It will be a joint endeavour
by researchers, land managers, policy-makers, industry and citizens to co-
design, co-create and implement solutions for the restoration and preservation
of soils all over Europe.
In terms of policy, the mission will be a main tool for achieving the objectives of
the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the EU Green Deal. The Green
Deal sets ambitious targets of which the restoration and preservation of healthy
soils are key elements. These targets are crucial to ensure that life on earth will
still be possible in future years, set against global trends of population growth,
climate change, increasing demand for food or loss of biodiversity. The mission
will also have a major role in the recovery of the European society from the corona
pandemic.
By 2030, at least 75% of soils in each EU Member State are healthy, or
show a significant improvement towards meeting accepted thresholds of
indicators, to support ecosystem services.
This goal corresponds to an increase in healthy soils against the baseline
established by individual Member States and following a bold -Action Plan for soil
health.
1 By ecosystem services we mean the services provided and the benefits people derive from
these services, both at the ecosystem and at the landscape scale, including public goods related to the wider ecosystem functioning and society well-being” (Haines-Young and Potschin 2018; MA 2005)
6
The mission’s proposed indicators for soil health (see Table 1 and section 2.2.)
cover measurable physical, chemical, biological and landscape parameters. The
measurements will have to follow agreed protocols and thresholds that account
for the variability in soil type, land use and climate (see Annex 2) with
benchmarks defined by MS themselves.
The need for radical action is based on an analysis of the state of soil health in
Europe (Annex 1) which indicates that 60-70% of our soils are unhealthy as a
direct result of current management practices. A further poorly defined
percentage of soils are also unhealthy due to indirect effects of air pollution and
climate change.
In line with the above goal, the mission aims to achieve the following objectives
and targets by 20302:
Objective 1: Reduce land degradation, including desertification and
salinization.
Target 1.1: 50% of degraded land is restored moving beyond
land degradation neutrality.
Objective 2: Conserve (e.g. in forests, permanent pastures, wetlands) and
increase soil organic carbon stocks.
Target 2.1: current carbon concentration losses on cultivated
land (0.5% per year) are reversed to an increase by 0.1-0.4%
per year;
Target 2.2: the area of managed peatlands losing carbon is
reduced by 30-50%.
Objective 3: No net soil sealing and increase the re-use of urban soils
for urban development.
Target 3.1: switch from 2.4% to no net soil sealing;
Target 3.2: the current rate of soil re-use is increased from
current 13% to 50% to help meet the EU target of no net land
take by 2050.
Objective 4: Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
2 EU goal, objectives and targets are feasible, but they will require transformations that may not be easy to trigger across all EU regions in the given timeframe.
In citizen engagement events, objectives 1 to 6 where considered relevant with particular mentioning of soil sealing, carbon sequestration and the promotion of organic agriculture
7
Target 4.1: at least 25% area of EU farmland under organic
agriculture;
Target 4.2: a further 5-25% of land with reduced risk from
eutrophication, pesticides, anti-microbials and other
agrochemicals and contaminants;
Note: This goes beyond the Green Deal 2030 targets of reducing
by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides and the use of
more hazardous pesticides; reducing nutrient losses by at least
50%; reducing fertilizer use by at least 20%;
Target 4.3: a doubling of the rate of restoration of polluted
sites.
Objective 5: Prevent erosion
Target 5.1: stop erosion on 30-50% of land with unsustainable
erosion rates.
Objective 6: Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota
and crops.
Target 6.1: soils with high-density subsoils are reduced by 30
to 50%.
Objective 7: Reduce the EU global footprint on soils.
Target 7.1: the impact of EU’s food, timber and biomass
imports on land degradation are reduced by 20-40 %.
Objective 8: Increase soil literacy in society across Member States.
Target 8.1: soil health is firmly embedded in schools and
educational curricula;
Target 8.2: uptake of soil health training by land managers
and advisors is increased;
Target 8.3: understanding of impact of consumer choices on
soil health is increased.
The mission’s objectives are closely related to those of the European Green Deal
and the Sustainable Development Goals, as further explained in sections 1.4 and
1.5. They also align with multiple other EU policies and strategies, as further
outlined in section 1.4 (Annex 3).
Through its actions, the mission will have a wide-reaching impact not only on
soil health but also on practices in agriculture, forestry and urban areas.
The mission will improve the functioning of food and bio-based value
chains, the conditions for biodiversity and the capacity to mitigate and
adapt to climate change. Soil health will clearly be the starting point for
8
systemic transformations across the whole food chain from primary
production to food industries and consumer behaviour. Foremost, the mission
will result in society rethinking the ways in which it values and cares
about soil.
1.2 Why do we need healthy soils? The need for a mission
Soils forms the skin of the earth and are essential for all life-sustaining processes
on our planet. Generating one centimetre of top soil takes hundreds of
years. Soils, being a key resource for life on Earth, are also a fragile non-
renewable resource in our lifetime. If soils are healthy and are managed
sustainably, they provide essential environmental, economic, and social benefits
for people. Some ecosystem services provided by soils include:
producing adequate quantities of nutritious and safe food, feed, fibre and
other biomass for industries;
storing and purifying water, regulating flows, recharging aquifers, and
reducing the impact of droughts and floods thereby helping adaptation to
climate change;
capturing carbon from the atmosphere and reducing emission of greenhouse
gases from soils, thereby contributing to climate mitigation;
nutrient cycling supporting crop productivity and reducing contamination;
preserving and protecting biodiversity by preserving habitats both above and
within the soil;
supporting the quality of our landscapes and greening of our towns and
cities.
But soils are threatened all over Europe and globally, mostly as a result of
human activities. Land degradation is caused amongst others, by unsustainable
management practices in agriculture and forestry, contamination from industries
and soil sealing through urbanisation and infrastructures. Food choices,
processes in the food chain and food waste are also affecting soil health.
The following examples from the EU reflect the gravity of the problem (as
referenced in Annex1):
2.8 million potentially contaminated sites, but only 24% are inventoried and
65,500 remediated;
83% of EU soils with residual pesticides; 21% of agricultural soils with
cadmium concentrations above the limit for drinking water; and 6% with
heavy metal content potentially unsafe for food production;
65-75% of agricultural soils with nutrient inputs at levels risking
eutrophication of soils and water and affecting biodiversity;
2.4% soil sealed and only 13% urban development on recycled urban land;
9
Cropland soils losing carbon at a rate of 0.5% per year and 50% of peatlands
drained and losing carbon;
24% of land with unsustainable water erosion rates;
23% of land with high density subsoil indicating compaction;
25% of land at High or Very High risk of desertification in Southern, Central
and Eastern Europe in 2017 - and an increase of 11% in desertification in just
10 years;
the costs associated with soil degradation in the EU exceed 50 billion
€ per yeari.
The process of soil degradation can lead to a collapse of landscapes and
ecosystems, making societies more vulnerable to extreme weather events, risks
to food security, food safety and even political instability. Land degradation is
further exacerbated by the effects of climate change.
By 2050, 50 - 700 million people worldwide are likely to be forced to migrate due
to a combination of climate change and land degradationii. Scenarios for the EU
indicate an increasing vulnerability of soils to desertification throughout this
century. Climate change may result in structural food shortages by 2050 as many
areas become too hot and dry to produce food while fertile soils along rivers and
seas may be flooded due to sea level rise. Increased intensities of showers is
likely to result in more erosion and landslides. A loss of only 0.1 % of carbon from
degraded soils emitted into the atmosphere is equivalent to carbon emissions of
100 million extra cars on the road. Healthy soils, in contrast, are major carbon
“storehouses” and essential for mitigating emissions from climate greenhouse
gases: more carbon resides in soil than in the atmosphere and all plant life
combinediii. Polluted soils not only lose their capacity to act as a filter or storage
for contaminants such as heavy metals or residues of pesticides but actually can
release pollutants, which may end up in the groundwater or may be taken up by
plants and thus enter the food chain and pose a threat to food safety. iv
Soil health may be lost quickly but is slow to restore and the time for
action has already been delayed for too long. It is time to act so that
future generations inherit clean, productive and resilient soils.
There is clear evidence management practices can halt land degradation and lead
to improvement in soil health with further improvement possible with wider
uptake of these best management practices and the development of new
innovative practices. Examples include:
Sustainable management practices halting soil loss in drylands between 20
to 50%v and in last 10 years has reduced soil loss by 20% in arable systemsvi
Introduction of cover crops increasing soil organic carbon by 6%vii
Adoption of phosphorus loss reduction measures and recycling options
reducing phosphorus losses by over 50%viii
10
The mission will provide the guidance, the means and the critical mass to
direct research, innovation, investments and policies towards the common goal
of restoring soil health in the EU and beyond. It will be the powerful tool
needed to mobilise the whole society in a way that we cannot foresee will happen
otherwise.
1.3 A novel approach to soil health
The mission’s approach is based on the recognition that:
It is people and their actions that need to change. Hence the need to focus
on communities (land managers, citizens, consumers, stakeholders,
researchers, advisors, policymakers, industrialists) to work together.
Soils can only be tackled within a systems’ approach, recognizing its
interfaces with land, water and air, which form ecosystems and landscapes;
societal needs for food, fibre, nature, industries and the well-being of people;
and the fluxes and flows between rural and urban areas.
Soils are dynamic, living systems that deliver essential ecosystem
services across farming, forestry, urban and conservation sectors. These
services contribute to the SDGs and the Green Deal. They deliver benefits from
local to landscape, national and global scale.
The diversity of soils and their services needs to be valued and taken
into account in all actions at different scales. This diversity calls for tools and
mechanisms that are adapted to the local context and allow for wider
societal involvement.
Soil health should be continuously monitored in a harmonised way and the
mission proposes a short list of eight key soil health indicators. The first
six indicators are measured at the plot / field level. Besides the direct, local
management, soil health is affected by processes at the scale of landscape,
and the two last indicators are measured at the landscape scale (Annex 2).
The proposed mission is ambitious, bold and urgent and will deliver major
environmental, economic and social impacts. It is relevant for the entire
EU territory in line with the ambition of “leaving no soil behind”! It proposes a
novel approach to solving problems of land degradation and addressing the
societal challenge of ensuring soil health. The EU has committed itself to
preserving soils including through international commitments. The mission is
therefore timely and essential.
Activities and outcomes of the proposed mission are measurable and time
bound. Specific land management practices have been defined and new
innovative practices will be developed through the R&I programme. All need to
be tailored to the different contexts and scales of intervention. Best current
management practices need to be implemented now to achieve the expected
11
outcomes by 2030. Progress on success of the mission will be measured by soil
health targets and indicators as summarised below in Table 1.
In developing the mission, the board has built on evidence from data analysis
and foresight. It has taken into account the views of citizens and
stakeholders, gathered at major events and through a survey with replies
from more than 2.500 participants.
Table 1: Mapping mission objectives and targets with eight proposed Soil Health
indicators
Mission Goal: 75% of all soils are healthy, or show a significant
improvement towards meeting accepted thresholds for indicators, to
support ecosystem services
Objectives Targets Soil Health Indicators to track outcomes
1.Reduce land
degradation,
incl.
desertification
and salinization
T 1.1: 50% degraded land
restored moving beyond land
degradation neutrality
All 8 soil health
indicators
2.Conserve
and increase
soil organic
carbon stocks
T 2.1: current carbon
concentration losses on cultivated
land (0.5% per year) are reversed
to an increase by 0.1-0.4% per
year
T 2.2: the area of managed
peatlands losing carbon is reduced
by 30-50%.
Soil organic carbon
stock
Vegetation cover
3.No net soil
sealing and
increase the
reuse of urban
soils
T 3.1: switch from 2.4% to no net
soil sealing
T 3.2: Urban recycling of land
increased from 13 to 50%
Soil structure
including soil bulk
density, absence of
soil sealing, erosion
and water infiltration
Vegetation cover
4.Reduce soil
pollution and
enhance
restoration
T 4.1: 25% of land under organic
farming
T 4.2: A further 5-25% additional
land (i.e. over and above the 25%
in full organic) with reduced risk
from eutrophication, pesticides,
anti-microbials and other
contaminants
T 4.3: Doubling of the rate of
restoration of polluted sites
Presence of soil
pollutants, excess
nutrients and salts
12
5.Prevent
erosion
T 5.1: Stop erosion on 30-50% of
land with unsustainable erosion
risk
Soil structure incl.
soil bulk density,
absence of soil
sealing, erosion and
water infiltration
Vegetation cover
Landscape
heterogeneity
Forest cover
6.Improve soil
structure to
enhance
habitat quality
for soil biota
and crops
T 6.1: Reduction by 30-50% of
soil with high density subsoils
Soil structure
including soil bulk
density, absence of
soil sealing, erosion
and water infiltration.
Vegetation cover
Landscape
heterogeneity
7.Reduce the
EU global
footprint on
soils
T 7.1: The impact of EU’s food,
timber and biomass imports on
land degradation are reduced by
20-40%
Food, feed and fibre
imports leading to
land degradation and
deforestation
8.Increase soil
literacy in
society across
Member States
Target 8.1: soil health is firmly
embedded in schools and
educational curricula;
Target 8.2: uptake of soil health
training by land managers is
increased;
Target 8.3: understanding of
impact of consumer choices on
soil health is increased
All eight indicators
(on a long term)
1.4 Support to the Sustainable Development Goals and to EU policies
To be effective, many players, across sectors, and at various scales need to take
action on soil health, from local to European and even global levels. Soil
degradation goes hand in hand with an overall decline in environmental quality
and threaten the livelihoods of millions of people around the worldix.
The mission will be a main tool to advance in reaching the targets of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Critically, the SDGs which require
action on soil are: SDG2 (zero hunger); SDG 6 (clean water and sanitisation);
SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 15 (life on land). None of these goals can be
achieved without improving the status of soils and their management.
13
Still, neither soil nor soil health are mentioned in the current targets and
indicators of the SDGs, except for SDG 15, target 33. The mission board has
therefore developed soil relevant targets matching the SDG goals to support
monitoring progress towards the SDGs in the EU (Annex 4). The SDGs reflect our
commitment to strive for a healthy and sustainable future for people and our
planet. As such, it is an integral part of the EU’s political priorities as formulated
in the Green Deal4.
The mission will be key for implementing the Green Deal and meeting its
ambitions to increase the EU’s climate performance (SDG 13), achieve zero-
pollution (SDG 6 and 10), preserve and restore biodiversity and safeguard our
forests (SDG 15) and promote a healthy and environmentally friendly food
system (SDG 2). The recently adopted Farm to Fork and the Biodiversity
strategies both mention the mission and its “aim to develop solutions for restoring
soil health and functions”x xi.
In addition to its central role in Green Deal strategies, the mission will exploit
existing tools and instruments and contribute to EU policies, such as
environmental objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Water
Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive, the Circular Economy Action Plan
and the upcoming revised Soil Thematic Strategy. Moreover, it will support global
commitments to achieve land degradation neutrality in the EU by 2030.
Finally, the mission will be an essential element of the EU’s post coronavirus
recovery package and investment plan, amongst others through its potential
to contribute to major initiatives for soil decontamination, reducing soil sealing,
reusing organic waste and carbon farming (see Annex 5).
The mission will contribute to reducing risks from coronavirus and other emerging
infectious diseases by enhancing the potential of the soil biome to provide
therapeutic solutions to Covid-19 secondary infections. Soil degradation reduces
crop productivity and resilience to climate change, but is also likely to release
infectious organisms that become air-borne on eroded soils, or survive longer in
soils with reduced biodiversity.
Reaching 75% of healthy soils or improving in health in the EU by 2030 will ensure
that:
Soil borne infectious diseasesxii (Tetanus, Botulism, Polio virus, etc.) are better
controlled;
3 SDG Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including
land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
4 A European Green Deal as part of Commission priorities for 2019 - 2024:
https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
14
The potential for the soil biome to provide future therapeutic solutions to
secondary infections from Covid including antibiotic resistancexiii and other
biotechnological and medical applications is not lost due to unintended
degradation of soil biodiversity;
EU agriculture resilience to climate shocks is strengthened, leading to reduced
risks for food security and food sovereignty;
Dependency on critical imports of feed is reduced by fostering EU-grown plant
proteins on healthy soils, reducing deforestation and hence the risks of
infectious diseases emergence.
At a glance: The mission’s support to strategic EU targets which
underpin the goal of Healthy Soils for Food, Nature, People and
Climate
Food: 25% of organic farms by 2030 (Farm to Fork; EU Nature Restoration);
Integrated Nutrient Plans (Biodiversity; Farm to Fork); neutral or positive
environmental impact of the food chain (Farm to Fork); Recycling of organic
wastes into renewable fertilisers (Farm to Fork);
People: Urban Greening Plans and increased reuse of urban soils (EU Nature
Restoration and new Urban Mobility Strategy); 25% of organic farms by 2030
(F2F; EU Nature Restoration);
Nature: Protection of land (Biodiversity); Increased circular use of excavated
soils (Biodiversity; EU Nature Restoration; Circular Economy, updated
Bioeconomy Strategy); Biodiversity friendly soil (Biodiversity); 10% high
diversity Landscape features (EU Nature Restoration); Improved protection
and targeting for sensitive receptors (EU Nature Restoration; Zero Pollution;
Farm to Fork); Protection of soil (Soil Thematic Strategy)
Climate: Certifying carbon removals (Farm to Fork); ensuring the food chain
has neutral or positive environmental impact (Farm to Fork).
15
2 The mission portfolio – scope and building blocks
Through its portfolio, the mission will provide the vision, the work plan, the
citizen engagement and the Research and Innovation (R&I) tools to re-
design production systems and transform the ways by which land and soils are
managed.
The mission will deploy a range of activities and tools for knowledge sharing,
co-creation of knowledge and research and for scaling up innovation to
improve soil management; the so-called building blocks. Furthermore, it will
encourage changes to the various drivers of soil health to reverse the
trends that have led to soil degradation.
These drivers include markets and consumer behaviour, policies, incentives and
regulation as well as education and advise. The involvement of stakeholders
and citizen engagement will be key in this process. Figure 1 summarises
the rationale and building blocks of the mission.
Figure 1: Soil Health drivers and impacts (centre of the
figure), and the mission building blocks (in italics)
16
The mission’s building blocks are based on
1) co-creation and sharing in Living Laboratories (LLs) and Lighthouses (LHs)
within and across farms and forest, landscape and urban settings;
2) a consistent selection of eight indicators to be used in a robust soil
monitoring programme by each Member State equivalent to that for other
natural resources (air, water and biodiversity);
3) an ambitious cross-scale, inter and transdisciplinary R&I programme;
4) training, education, communication and citizen engagement
embedded into all activities.
The policy framework, consumer attitudes, market mechanisms and other
incentives along with independent advisory services and information platforms
for land managers are fundamental drivers of land use and soil management.
The transition towards healthy soils requires that these drivers are
addressed as part of the necessary changes that will ensure the success
of the mission activities.
For its implementation, the mission will tap into various sources of funding at
European, national, regional and local levels. An implementation and
investment plan will outline the combination of instruments needed to roll out the
mission. This is in line with the understanding of missions as an enabler of
changes beyond R&I.
The implementation plan will specify that various EU programmes that could
potentially be mobilised to support the mission. It will also address the
combination of public and private funding, cooperation between sectors and
opportunities for international cooperation. In carrying out the mission, care
will be taken to ensure that all activities, images and language in
communications, are gender inclusive and that any outreach activities consider
a range of accessibility issues.
2.1 Co-creation of knowledge and innovation in living labs and lighthouses
This mission aims to reverse the traditional linear and often disciplinary vision of
research and development, by establishing a dense network of “living
laboratories” and “lighthouses” for various types of land uses (farms, forests,
industrial areas and urban settings) and functioning very close to land managers
and their needs.
Examples of LLs and LHs exist but are not widespread in relation to effective land
use systems that combine economic viability with social strength and
environmental quality as indicated by ecosystem services provided. A first rapid
mapping across Member States helped to identify more than 80 case studies of
LLs and LHs and there are likely to be many more. These structures differ
substantially in terms of size, history, partnership and area of activities.
17
Examples include LLs and LHs working on the demonstration of sustainable
production technologies, carbon farming, soil and other monitoring systems, and
the management of natural resources across farm, forestry and urban systems.
While for the time being limited in numbers, these experiences provide a solid,
inspirational basis for further developing LLs and LHs at a wider scale.
Living Laboratories (or living labs) are spaces for co-innovation through
participatory, transdisciplinary and systemic research. They allow highly
committed landowners and land managers, stakeholders from various sectors,
public authorities and citizens, including consumers, to work together with
researchers from multiple disciplines to develop solutions and identify gaps in our
knowledge on soil health. This includes the enhanced use of agroecological
principles and of organic agricultural practices that have shown evidence of
notable effects on soil health. In living labs there is also research on land
managers’ motivations, socio-economic drivers, incentive mechanisms, business
models and enabling environments for successful transformation towards
improved soil health and improved ecosystem services.
Some of these living labs will be “lighthouses” i.e. places for demonstration
of solutions, training and communication. In the area of agriculture for
instance, lighthouses will showcase practices that are exemplary in terms of
providing sustainably produced, healthy food, feed or fibre as well as ecosystem
services linking rural and urban communities. They will bring together land
managers, advisors and citizens, the latter ones having an important role as
consumers and drivers of practices in agriculture and the food chain.
Depending on the regional situation, lighthouses and living labs will address
specific “needs” for soil health and build the necessary partnerships across spatial
scales and value chains. The following characteristics apply to Living Labs and
Lighthouses:
Living Labs (LLs):
Co-design and co-construction of innovative practices beyond current
understanding with inputs from citizens, practitioners (e.g. farmers,
foresters, landscape managers), advisory services, biophysical and social
scientists, data scientists and technologists, planners and policy makers,
business, educators and trainers. This requires dedicated governance or
cooperation models which could also be established at the level of regional
clusters of LLs.
Experimental and research and innovation activities, moving beyond
current management practices that are clearly linked to several of the soil
health targets using a systems based approach with clear tracking of
outcomes over time using robust monitoring approaches and indicators.
Robust scientific approach embedded taking an interdisciplinary and
always when possible, a transdisciplinary approach.
Wide range of outreach activities.
18
Lighthouses (LHs):
Demonstration of best management practices in various sectors and
various types of land use which improve soil health and related ecosystem
services using a systems based approach.
Research activities focussed around improving current management
practices that are clearly linked to one or more of the soil health targets
using a systems based approach with clear tracking of multiple outcomes
(economic, social, environmental, etc.) over time using robust monitoring
approaches.
Active outreach and engagement activities with biophysical and social
sciences embedded in all activities to address the quantification of risks and
opportunities, cost-benefit analysis, wider systems’ impacts including those
on food, forestry and urban systems. This shall improve the evidence base
and encourage wider uptake both within and beyond the LH boundaries.
Active outreach and engagement programmes to include: high level of
engagement activities for citizens (e.g. gardeners, consumers), practitioners
(e.g. farmers, foresters, landscape managers), advisory services, data
scientists and technologists, planners and policy makers, business, educators
and trainers. Support in the co-construction of emerging LLs and LHs within
and beyond the immediate regional context.
Living labs and Lighthouses will be grouped within regional clusters of 10-15 units
(farms, forests, industrial areas and urban settings) which will allow co-
innovation at landscape and watershed levelsxiv. Networking between these
clusters will allow sharing and benefiting from experiences all over Europe.
The ambition is to establish in the first years of the mission at least five,
preferably ten living labs and/or lighthouses in each of the regionsxv of
the EU. This will result in 1000 – 2000 living labs and lighthouses as incubators
and demonstrators of change.
2.2 Efficient soil health monitoring
The effectiveness of different forms of soil improvement can only be assessed by
monitoring land use systems at different spatial scales and over time, with
efficient indicators. Modern measuring and monitoring techniques, including
proximal and remote sensing, offer new opportunities to evaluate the effects of
management. Building on closer integration between existing pan-European
monitoring instruments (e.g. the LUCAS Soil Module) and Member State national
programmes, such data will help to populate performance indicators. The new
monitoring system will also integrate citizen science and crowd sourced
data, multimedia and other data coming from living labs and lighthouses that
open-up the monitoring for the citizens. The means for this exist and can be used
already.
19
The mission proposes to use eight indicators to assess current status and
track change:
1) Presence of soil pollutants, excess nutrients and salts
2) Soil organic carbon stock
3) Soil structure including soil bulk density and absence of soil sealing and
erosion5
4) Soil biodiversity
5) Soil nutrients and acidity (pH)
6) Vegetation cover
7) Landscape heterogeneity
8) Forest cover
The connection between all these indicators and the objectives and targets of the
mission are shown in Table 1 and a justification for their selection and some
previous applications are in Annex 2.
The mission argues against a silo approach where only a single indicator is
tracked, as improvement in one indicator should not come at a cost of
another. Measurements are soil-specific showing characteristically different
ranges of values for different soil types according to their land use. An unhealthy
soil is present if any indicator is below an agreed threshold defined for that
soil type, land use and climate zone.
2.3 Research needs for soil health innovation
The magnitude of soil health related problems and the urgency to resolve them
requires transformational changes in policy, management practices and a
re-design of production systems and land management. Research and
innovation must urgently address all these dimensions. Knowledge exists within
individual disciplines but there is hardly any integrated knowledge on soil health
combining insights from various disciplines and sectors. To maximise impact, we
advocate that R&I activities should be based on the following principles:
Systemic approaches: Recognize soil health interfaces with land, water
and air which form ecosystems and landscapes, with societal needs and
demands for ecosystem services and with the fluxes and flows between rural
and urban areas.
Interdiscipinarity: More efficient and fertile integration of scientific
disciplines, considering long-term scales, solving problems and taking
5 Prevention of soil sealing was a main concern voiced by citizens at engagement events
20
risks, so that innovative approaches can be implemented and results are
of high societal relevance. Integration of natural and social sciences at
an equal level is crucial and a definitive novel step.
Transdisciplinarity: More constant dialogue and co-construction
between research and practice, so that the questions addressed by
research respond to existing problems, results are tested and validated
in practice and improvements can be introduced. The multi-actor
approach as promoted by the European Innovation Partnership EIP AGRI
as a way to promote transdisciplinarity should be further mainstreamed
in research and innovation activities.
Contextualization: Going away from one-size-fits-all approaches and
solutions and moving into acknowledging specificities and differentiation.
Develop solutions adapted to a particular context, that solve the
particular problems and can be applied directly.
Societal support: Co-creation, knowledge sharing, information and
demonstration of results to achieve public support for the research
needed and activities implemented.
Cross-scale integration: Research and innovation (R&I) activities will take
place at a variety of spatial scales, addressing the various systems and
interactions that have a bearing on soil health.
The LH and LL will be the key structures to identify research and innovation gaps,
develop systems approaches and integrated disciplines, in cooperation with
practice to solutions that are ready to be used by practitioners and
communicated to citizens at large. However, many regions lack structures
that could support these LLs and LHs, so a gradual implementation is required.
It is urgent to start creating LL and LH and provide the support to do so.
The mission proposes a strong commitment to LLs and LHs across R&I
projects: In regions where LLs and LHs exist and are relevant for the questions
to be addressed, the majority of projects should use these structures, or
collaborate with them. Where LLs and LHs do not exist or are not appropriate,
R&I projects should engage in activities which will lead towards the creation of
LLs and LHs relevant to soil health in the near future – so that project act as a
dynamo for the creation and development of new LLs and LHs.
This approach will ensure the rapid building of social capital in each EU region
with R&I feeding the co-creation of LHs and LLs to catalyse their practical
implementation as well as the adaptation to the regional context by learning on-
site. It will further allow to appreciate the diversity of initiatives across the EU as
a value and an opportunity.
21
It should be noted that LLs and LHs are not the only approach to R&I, and
therefore flexibility will be needed, e.g. when addressing trans-national and
global research, EU level policies or soil health monitoring.
As can be seen in Fig.2 based on the example of the agri-food system, there are
different, nested scales, interacting with each other. Not all scales where research
is needed, can be addressed through LLs and LHs, though.
Figure 2 – Nested scales for soil health and food R&I
Plot, farm/forestry/urban, landscape and partly the regional scale can be
addressed in close interaction with LLs and LHs. Support to regional and national
policies require a further level of integration and strong links with economics and
funding issues, and possibly clusters of LLs and LHs and respective actors.
Support to national and EU soil monitoring requires a broader scale than the
region. The scale of the process(es) at stake is crucial to identify the adequate
type of multi-actor construction.
R&I activities will cover the two fundamental dimensions:
A. Research which is focused on SOIL HEALTH – addressed by multiple
natural sciences, including: what is a healthy soil and which indicators thresholds
make sense in each context, soil functions and their support to ecosystems
services, and how to monitor changes. This includes measurement of the eight
indicators of soil health, but could also include measurements of soil functions
including ground- and surface water quality, release of greenhouse gas (GHG)
and biodiversity. Innovative proximal and remote sensing and monitoring
techniques should be further developed to allow rapid but accurate
measurements. Increased knowledge is needed to better understand and predict
the effects of a changing climate.
22
B. Research which addresses the DRIVERS of soil health – this means
soil management and the drivers affecting this management, and requiring social
sciences. It includes behaviour analysis of soil managers, understanding the
current barriers and opportunities which surround a system change, most
efficient mechanisms to support transition to sustainable land use, adaptation of
advisory services to different farm and forest structures and factors that lead to
success of existing best practices. It also includes assessing changes in practices
in the food and non-food value chains and in consumption patterns, or at how
urban, and spatial planning could promote a more sustainable use of land.
Different questions to be solved ask for a focus more in one or the other of these
two approaches – and this must be supported. A significant part of the funding
could go for programmes and projects which are integrative, paying equal
attention to the two domains of soil health and drivers of soil health.
R&I priorities have been structured according to four headings (P1 - P4):
P1: Integration and uptake of current knowledge.
This is to take advantage of the existing knowledge, including from past programs
of EU research funding. Priorities include:
a. Data platforms which integrate and provide existing data in an effective and
accessible way. This requires close-collaboration between a range of actors.
b. Linked data and provision of models outputs; long-term field experiments
and current monitoring data showing soil health impacts.
d. Identify the social and human mechanisms that, in each socio-economic,
political and cultural context, constrain the uptake of already existing
knowledge by producers and land managers, e.g. producer’s path
dependencies, key processes to unlock, supporting mechanisms, , key actors
to mobilize and invest in, potential for collective actions; opportunities for
efficient spread of innovation.
e. Creation and promotion of Lighthouses to be drivers for the wider uptake of
already existing knowledge: e.g. agro-ecological and organic farming
practices; conservation agriculture; high nature value farming and land
management; carbon farming; sustainable and adaptive forestry, urban
planning and greening, urban-rural nexus, information and communication
technologies, decision support systems, shorter value chains, improved
nutrition and health.
f. Design and improvement of extension and advisory services, adapted to each
regional context and targeting all producers and land managers.
Mission objectives supported: 1,2,3,4,5,6.
Scales: Plot and field scale; farm/forest/town & city; Landscape.
23
P2: Accelerating Innovation in technologies and practices
This is where R&I will focus on innovation and development of new
technologies, practices and systems, evaluation of constraints and
innovation pathways in social structures, governance mechanisms, value
chains, markets and public policy strategies and tools to enable a step
change in future management practices to accelerate the rate of meeting
the soil health targets. This to include:
a. Living Labs – Co-design and co-construction of demonstration platforms
in farms, forestry and urban settings to develop new innovative solutions
and integrated local value chains which are immediately tested in a real-
world setting. Issues to include diversification, novel crops, cultivars and
their combinations; innovative organic and carbon farming; adaptive
forestry practices; adaptive practices supporting cropland, pastures and
forestry biodiversity; exploration of the rhizosphere and soil biodiversity
incl. the microbiome; soil restoration and novel remediation approaches;
soil health and food quality; waste valorisation under a circular approach;
engagement of urban communities for urban greening.
b. Analysis, new design and monitoring of incentive, markets, financial,
regulation and policy tools to provide a robust evidence base of what
works where and why with respect to improving uptake of sustainable
management practices. Assessment of sustainable business models.
Design, test and validate forms of collective actions and place based
networks that effectively support changes in practices and business
models in farm, forestry and other sectors.
c. Technological projects which develop and make operational new and
existing proximal and remote sensing technologies, agriculture
machinery and AI. To make more effective and efficient the tracking of
soil health change and better implemented and target management
practices. Testing within LH and LL where appropriate.
d. Design and validate new forms of collective actions that improve
integrated soil, water and waste management at landscape scale6.
Mission objectives supported: 1,2,3,4,5,6.
Scales: Plot and field scale; Farm/forest/town & city; Landscape.
6 The need for water and waste management, including home composting, at the local level were indicated as priorities in citizen engagement
24
P3: Towards global resilience through circular eco-economy and
adaptation of food and biomass systems
This to include:
a. Development and testing of foot printing tools which can help assess the
global soil health footprint of food and feed, wood and biomass use in
the EU.
b. Development of international research cooperation on soil health
monitoring, including soil carbon stocks, land degradation, net soil
sealing, contaminants and habitat quality.
c. Co-creation of new market mechanisms, business and governance
models and training tools that support sustainability in production
including soil health.
d. Measuring the influence of agricultural practices (incl. soil management)
on yield and crop performance and on the nutritional quality and safety
of food and feed
e. Promotion of shorter value chains and circular (bio)-economy to improve
soil health, creating rural-urban synergies comprising safe reduction of
organic waste
f. Development of supportive policies and incentives for sustainable agri-
food systems that improve soil health and reduce their global footprint.
g. Best information, communication, and education mechanisms to the
wider public/consumers, and to companies, to encourage consumption
of sustainably produced food, biomass and bio-based solutions.
h. Co-design of new community-based models in cooperation with social
sciences and humanities towards more sustainable food production,
dietary habits, and waste reduction.
Mission objectives supported: 7; support to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Scales: Global and food system; national.
P4: Next generation monitoring and surveillance programmes
This priority is crucial to track progress towards the mission targets. It
includes:
a. Creation of a robust pan-EU approach for setting national and regional
standards for good soil health (equivalent to that for the Water
Framework Directive and other policies) using the suite of indicators
defined by the MB. Standards to be created to take account of the
25
different requirements for soil health by soils type, land use and climate
zone combinations.
b. Improvement or establishment of national scale monitoring programmes
to track changes in soil health using standardised approach change in
soil health to both better support national policies but also local
management approaches and to support self-assessment by land
managers.
c. Provision of data and services into accessible open data platforms (see
1a above).
d. New modelling platforms to integrate with pan-EU and national soil
monitoring, proximal and remote sensing and citizen science.
Mission objectives SHFMB Targets supported: 1,2,3,4,5,6.
3. Training, education, communication and citizen engagement
Barriers for improving soil health include the lack of literacy across all sectors of
society as well as the insufficient communication and engagement between
communities to create common ground for joint action, evaluation, learning as
the mission progresses. Whilst these activities will often be at the local level
where people actually live, the success of the mission and the sustainable
management of soils will also depend on actions taken by all citizens and not only
by experts, as solutions have to be implemented at the European, national,
regional. Therefore, to better target these activities, there is a need to better
understand the roles of different sectors and audiences who need to change their
behaviours and actions, how they interact together, as well as the current barriers
and opportunities which surround a system change. The evidence existing or to
be produced should be clear about the assumptions being made on
communication and engagement processes, and adjusted over time if outcomes
are not as intended. This is addressed in section 2 on the R&I priorities.
Here we focus on the specific training and education, communication and
engagement activities the mission as a whole should prioritise.
3.1 Training and education
The mission acknowledges that for society to rebalance its perception of soil,
education must be at the heart of this change. Education is not simply the
accumulation of knowledge, but it supports competencies that allow the
application of that knowledge to move forward. Education allows citizens to share
the need for protecting soil and articulate this need vis-a-vis decision-makers.
In this context, the mission should be a stimulus to increase the emphasis placed
on soil in education, promote integrated research on soil (especially in links with
26
other missions), encourage more and better learning opportunities for society at
large, and reward best practices. Due attention will be given to improving access
to evidence based information and adequate access to advisory services as well
as to making full use of new opportunities for education arising from digitisation.
Examples include:
Soil science curricula should especially be developed for schools, adapted to
different age groups. Such curricula should be stimulating, fun, practical and
provide a combination of theoretical and practical learning for scholars to
understand the importance of soil in their daily existence;
At University level soil science should include training on the use of systemic
approaches, technical advances and information for accurate advice by the
future graduates, to land managers and policy makers.
Educational gardens in schools and parks, farm open days, study clubs, as
well as new online technologies can be used to link and demonstrate food
production, soil biodiversity, nutrient cycles, etc.;
Links between soil and key societal concerns (e.g. cancer, climate change,
ocean health, food safety, pollution, etc.) can be made clear in educational
programmes, when these key concerns are addressed.
Member States should ensure adequate access to advisory services and
refresher courses to help farmers, foresters and managers of urban green
areas to implement sustainable soil management practices.
3.2 Communication and citizen engagement
Communication (here intended as a one-way flow of information from the sender
to the receiver) and citizen engagement (here intended as a participatory process
with a two-way flow between the sender and the receiver and vice versa) are key
elements of the mission and crucial for its success.
People at large are often not fully aware of the manifold functions of soils and the
relevance of these functions for humankind. Communication activities throughout
the mission will bring soils closer to the attention of citizens and stakeholders
while engagement activities will allow citizens to be a main player in the mission
process.
Living labs and lighthouses will be main vehicles for citizen engagement, bringing
together researchers, practitioners, communities and other stakeholders to
develop together solutions with a tangible impact and to share and spread already
existing sustainable practices.
The numerous events with the involvement of citizens throughout 2020 (see table
at the end of Annex 7) were a very positive experiences that were taken into
account when setting up this mission proposal. They showed that citizens can
bring enthusiasm and meaningful inputs to discussions on R&I and its implications
27
for citizens’ daily lives. There is a true and genuine appetite for participation, as
shown for instance by the fact that 80% out of about 2.500 respondents to a
European wide online survey (running from December 2019 until September
2020) replied that they would like to engage in actions to improve soil health.
In Czechia and Portugal, where workshops followed an agreed methodology for
engagement, citizens raised very precise views on what they consider as priorities
for action under the mission. This included issues addressing soil sealing, water
and waste management, reforestation, support to (small) farmers for sustainable
practices (also to go away from the production of biofuels) and the need for better
governance, information and monitoring. The priorities identified reflect well local
needs and specificities and are highly valuable for the differentiation of LLs and
LHs in regions.
At a workshop with the European Youth Forum, students and young professionals
showed that they are well aware of soil threats. Their concerns were the
prevention of soil ceiling, more efficient support to farmers and foresters for soil
friendly practices, increasing (soil) biodiversity in urban and rural areas
strengthening organic production.
Living labs and lighthouses will contribute in each Member State to the provision
of a soil information hub of the ‘best of’ resources including: soil health data;
video and education tools; activities to learn how to protect and restore soil
health; information to source accredited approaches for Continuous Professional
Development (CPD) for land managers; information on locations and activities of
living lighthouse and living laboratories in the Member State and across the EU.
The Mission Board has developed a draft
communication and citizen engagement
strategy. It is a living document that will
be further refined and constantly updated
throughout the missions’ implementation
to take into account progress of
activities, and specific needs arising. In
addition, and as a starting point for
further communication, this mission
report includes a “citizens’ manifesto”,
summarising the essence of the mission
proposal (Annex 8). This manifesto will be further developed and updated during
the implementation phase of the mission.
For its communication activities, the mission will make use of a rich landscape of
local, regional, national and European networks working in the mission area, as
well as educational institutions.
28
It will team up with citizen science
initiatives, such as the European
Network for Soil Awareness, the
European Citizen Science Association or
the Future Earth Knowledge and Action
Network on Systems of Sustainable
Consumption and Production.
The European Innovation Partnership
EIP AGRI will be a main tool to reach out
to the agricultural and forestry sector.
The mission will feed into the EU Soil
Observatory and reach out to international partners, e.g. through the Global Soil
Partnership and its Healthy Soils Facility.
4. A supportive environment for healthy soils and societal benefits
4.1 Creating enabling conditions
Research, innovation, demonstration and monitoring alone will not be enough to
mainstream improved soil management throughout Europe and achieve the
ambitions of the mission.
Public policies, incentives, investments, information, advice and society
at large, need to be mobilized to create an enabling environment for the
sustainable management of soils. All of us as consumers will have a
central role to drive for the change needed7.
The following list shows main priorities for action which will be pursued as part of
the wider activities of the mission to act on drivers of soil health. It is
complemented by an overview of possible funding programmes and instruments
that could be mobilised to support mission activities (Annex 7):
(i) Policies and legislation to be harmonized to support sustainable soil
management and regenerative, circular bio-economy value chains;
(ii) CAP new payment schemes to reward effectively practices that improve
and restore soil health through more diverse, regenerative and systems-
based approaches in agriculture and forestry based on long-term contracts
and compensation for results measured by the level of ecosystem services
provision
7 Consulted citizens declared for example that they wished to be able to distinguish among
products to opt for “soil-friendly” products.
29
(iii) De-risking and guarantee mechanisms for land managers and
businesses that engage in transformation towards increased soil health,
such as long-term loans guaranteed by a specific financial organisation.
(iv) Regulations and taxes that reward the purchase of goods produced in a
manner that improves soil health;
(v) A new Soil Thematic Strategy and Directive to be developed to provide
a regulatory framework enabling changes as defined by mission roadmap
and robust aligned soil monitoring programmes by each MS;
(vi) Spatial planning to reduce and possibly reverse soil sealing by stopping
urban sprawl and the occupancy of soils by transport infrastructures and
enhance mosaic landscapes;
(vii) Context specific Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), including
specific advisory services which links to individual land managers, to be
designed, tested and validated;
(viii) Online, easy to use, multiple language platforms to access and share
knowledge and experiences;
(ix) Changes across food systems, including at transformation, retail and
consumer level, to be fostered to provide the ‘market pull’ to drive the
changes needed;
(x) Public and private sector investments in R&D to foster sectoral
innovations for soil health monitoring and improvement, including regional
innovations led by cities and regions for couples transformation of soil
health and food systems, or waste management systems.
4.2 Synergies with other missions and EU programmes
Soils play a central role in addressing major challenges on climate change,
biodiversity, food production, food safety and water management.
This was recognised by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von
der Leyen, when outlining her vision for a greener Europe: “Climate change,
biodiversity, food security, deforestation and land degradation go
together”.
The Soil Health Mission will have important spill overs on other missions and
contribute to
Healthy Oceans, Seas, coastal and inland waters: by reducing pollution from
fertilisers, pesticides and other contaminants;
Climate Adaptation and Societal Transformation: by enhancing carbon and
biodiverse rich soils as the basis for climate resilient agriculture and rural
landscapes or by raising citizens and land managers awareness to the need
for a transformative change in land use practices;
30
Climate Neutral and Smart Cities: by reducing and progressively stopping soil
sealing and enhancing soil health of city soils, contributing to the greening of
European towns and cities and a better urban environment;
Cancer: by promoting safe (non-polluted) food and healthy diets as an
important element of cancer prevention.
The mission will equally benefit from activities carried out by the other missions,
e.g. in the context of regional and urban activities for climate adaptation.
Cooperation between the five missions is therefore required.
As part of the mission’s plan for implementation, synergies will be established
with a number of EU programmes and EU infrastructures including:
EU Horizon Europe partnerships on (1) agro-ecology and (2) food systems;
Horizon Europe activities under Cluster 6 and other parts of the Horizon
Europe programme under Pillars I and III;
EU infrastructures;
H2020 projects : European Joint Programme EJP Soilsxvi and CIRCASAxvii;
EIT Climate Knowledge and Innovation Communityxviii and EIT Foodxix
JRC activities, e.g. in the context of the EU Soil Observatory as a repository
of mission outcomes and of LUCAS soilxx;
European Space Agency (ESA) for World Soils and Society - Thematic
Exploitation Platforms on Food Security, Forestry, Coastal, Urbanxxi;
Copernicus programme (Land Monitoring, Climate Change and Emergency
Management Services);
Pro Silva– Integrated forest management for resilience and sustainabilityxxii.
By connecting activities and seeking for synergies between various programmes,
initiatives and infrastructures, the mission will enhance the sharing of knowledge
and innovations, speed up the widespread uptake of solutions and increase
impact of activities.
31
4.3 Timeline of activities
Activity Year ‘21 ‘22 ‘23 ‘24 ‘25 ‘26 ‘27 ‘28 ‘29 ‘30
CO-DESIGN PHASE
1. Identifying and mapping in each EU region: (1) “soil
needs”, objectives and priorities for action; (2)
structures for implementing mission activities, (3)
funding & other mechanisms for setting up living labs
(LLs) and lighthouses (LHs)
2. Building communities at different spatial scales and
levels
CO-IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
Setting up and running regional LLs and LHs across
regions in Europe; building clusters and networks
Carry out R&I activities to support objectives of the
mission
Training and access to independent, advisory services
for all land managers
MONITORING AND CO-ASSESSMENT
Support development of monitoring systems in Member
States according to agreed, validated protocols and
identified benchmarks
Mid-term evaluation of activities
Monitor mission activities and outcomes for improved
soil health
CROSS-CUTTING, ENABLING ACTIONS
Communication and citizen engagement
Science-policy dialogue and other activities to address
drivers of soil health: e.g. policies, soil legislation,
regulation and taxes for food, global foot-printing tools
Support to (Agricultural) Knowledge and Innovation
Systems
Data (e.g. freely available data products), information
and support to an EU Soil Observatory
32
References
i The Implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy and Ongoing Activities
(EC, 2012): Costs are estimated at €38 billion annually for 25 EU countries
but this figure did not include costs from biodiversity decline, sealing or
compaction.
ii IPBES (2018): The assessment report on land degradation and restoration
iii Schwartz J.D., Soil as Carbon Storehouse: New Weapon in Climate Fight?,
in Yale Environment 360
iv Rodríguez-Eugenio, N., McLaughlin, M. and Pennock, D. 2018. Soil
Pollution: a hidden reality. Rome, FAO
v Schwilch, G., Liniger, H.P. and Hurni, H., 2014. Sustainable land
management (SLM) practices in drylands: how do they address
desertification threats?. Environmental management, 54(5), pp.983-1004.
vi Panagos, P., Imeson, A., Meusburger, K., Borrelli, P., Poesen, J. and
Alewell, C., 2016. Soil conservation in Europe: wish or reality?. Land
Degradation & Development, 27(6), pp.1547-1551
vii Bai, X., Huang, Y., Ren, W., Coyne, M., Jacinthe, P.A., Tao, B., Hui, D.,
Yang, J. and Matocha, C., 2019. Responses of soil carbon sequestration to climate‐smart agriculture practices: A meta‐analysis. Global change
biology, 25(8), pp.2591-2606.
viii Koppelaar, R.H.E.M. and Weikard, H.P., 2013. Assessing phosphate rock
depletion and phosphorus recycling options. Global Environmental
Change, 23(6), pp.1454-1466.
ix Bouma, J., Keesstra, S., & Cerdà, A. 2017. “The importance of Soil Science
to understand and remediate Land Degradation and Desertification
processes.” EGU General Assembly 2017, 19(EGU2017-16112-3)
x EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 - Bringing nature back into our lives;
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and Committee of
the Regions; COM(2020) 380 final
xi A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly
food system; Communication from the Commission to the European
Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and
Committee of the Regions; COM(2020) 381 final
xii Jeffery and van der Putten (2011). Soil borne human diseases. JRC. doi:10.2788/37199
xiii Zhu et al. (2019). Soil biota, antimicrobial resistance and planetary health.
Doi: 10:1
33
xiv https://www.macs-
g20.org/fileadmin/macs/Annual_Meetings/2019_Japan/ALL_Executive_Re
port.pdf 016/j.envint2019.105059
xv Regions are defined according to the NUTS 2 classification: https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02003R1059-
20191113&from=EN
xvi EJP Soils: (https://projects.au.dk/ejpsoil/about-ejp-soil/)
xvii CIRCASA: https://www.circasa-project.eu/
xviii KIC CLIMATE: (https://www.climate-kic.org/)
xix EIT FOOD: https://www.eitfood.eu/
xx ESDAC - https://esdac.jrc.ec.europa.eu/
xxi European Space Agency (ESA): (https://eo4society.esa.int/thematic-
exploitation-platforms-overview/)
xxii ProSilva: www.prosilva.org
34
ANNEXES
Annex 1 Review of the evidence base: status of soil health across
Europe in 2020
This document represents a review of the latest literature by the Soil Health and
Food Mission Board (MB) and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre
(JRC) to help define the main goal of the mission: namely, that 75% of the
soils of the European Union (EU) should be healthy or improving by 2030.
The review concludes:
A review of the current evidence of the state of EU soils by the MB and JRC is
that current management practices result in, approximately, 60-70% of EU soils
being unhealthy, with a further, as yet, uncertain percentage of soils unhealthy
due to poorly quantified pollution issues. A 75% goal of healthy or improving soil
by 2030 through a radical change in current land management practices is both
feasible and necessary. Soils will also benefit from improvement to indirect
drivers of change such as reductions in air pollution and carbon emissions.
The following sections provides the evidence base for this statement.
Some basic assumptions:
EU Land area: 4,233,255 km2
Agricultural area of EU is 39% of land area: 1,730,000 km2
Croplands occupies 23% of the EU: 1,060,000 km2
Artificial areas occupy 5% of the EU: 222,592 km2
‘Natural’ soils (i.e. without intensive management regimes): 52% of the EU
1. Nutrients
The Gross Nutrient Balance Indicator (EUROSTAT 2020) shows that there is
currently an excess of fertilizer applications in the EU: data show that for
agricultural land there is a surplus of 50 kg N/ha and 2 kg P/ha.
The European Commission (EC 2018) reports that Nitrates Vulnerable Zones
(NVZ) cover 2,175,861 km2 of the EU (latest figures for 2015 and includes MS
that apply a whole-territory approach). NVZ represent approximately 61% of
agricultural land. This means that there are obligations to reach a balanced
fertilisation for 61% of agricultural soils (arable and grasslands).
SOER 2020 (EEA) reports that for 65-75% of agricultural soils, nitrogen values
exceed critical values beyond which eutrophication can be expected (De Vries et
al., in prep).
There are also issues from atmospheric deposition of nutrient nitrogen in non-
agricultural systems. CIAM/IIASA (2018) reported that critical loads for
35
eutrophication were determined for 2.65 million km2 (62%) of European land in
2017. (See also Section 6 on Contamination).
Therefore, area of land with failure of soil health indicator due to direct
inputs nutrient issues in agricultural systems (excluding air pollution
issues) = 27% – 31.5%
2. Organic carbon
LUCAS Soil data, covering surface soil, show that cultivated and permanent crops
have the lowest SOC concentrations of all major land cover classes (around 17
g/kg C). By comparison, average levels for permanent grasslands in the EU are
2.4 times higher (Hiederer 2018).
Most croplands in EU are most likely to be already at sub-optimal levels – 1.5%
of all land use have SOC levels below 1% C. This rises to 2.6% of arable soils
(JRC LUCAS). This would account for approx. 0.6% of land outside of agriculture.
LUCAS soil organic carbon concentration change analysis (2009-2015) for points
where land cover was the same in both dates, show a decrease of about 0.5 %
per year on croplands which was statistically significant on the most carbon poor
soils (Hiederer 2018). Subsequent estimates of overall SOC stock changes (all
soils) indicate that the total SOC change between LUCAS 2009/12 and 2015 show
that about 60 % of EU agricultural areas experienced changes below 0.2% of the
average stock. The trend in in carbon stocks in grassland was loss of about 0.04
% and in arable land a loss of about 0.06% (Panagos et al 2020). 10% of the
area is predicted to have changes larger than ± 12 g kg–1 over the 6 year interval
Area of land with failure of soil health indicator due to low and declining
carbon stocks = 23% (BUT there will be overlap with (1)). 0.6% falls
outside of agricultural areas.
3. Peat
Byrne et al. (2004) reported an area of 340,000 km2 of peat soils in the EU
Member States and Candidate Countries (Tanneberger et al.2017, has updated
figures on extent per country, which indicates that the extent of peatlands in the
EU is closer to 270,000 km2, although the figures for some countries are still
approximations). On this basis, peats cover 8% of EU land area, of which 50% of
peatlands are estimated to be drained which will result in the oxidising of the
peat and loss carbon to the atmosphere (JRC 2016). Results from hydrological
reconstructions indicated 60% of peatlands are drier than they were 1000 years
ago due to these direct human impacts and climatic drying (Swindleset al. 2019).
Not all peat being degraded is under agriculture. Schils et al., 2008 estimates
about 20,000 km2 of drained peat (ca. 7.4% of peatland) is not in agricultural
use as cropland or grassland (0.5% of EU).
Area of land failing soil health indicator due to peatland degradation =
4.8% under (1) or (2) but 0.5% is outside agricultural areas.
36
4. Water Erosion
Pangos et al. (2015) reports that 24% of land has unsustainable soil water
erosion rates (>2. t /ha). Mean soil erosion by water for EU is 2.46 t ha-1 yr-1,
resulting in a total annual soil loss of 970 Mt. This covers a wide range of land
use types with around 70% of the land in agricultural systems. This means that
area not overlapping with (1) and (2) could be estimated as 17% (47% of 24%
eroding land).
However, a new report by JRC (Panagos et al. 2020) shows erosion by water on
arable land is 10% greater than the mean for the EU (this means that we can
consider all 23% of cropland as affected). Permanent crops have highest soil
erosion rates. Arable and permanent crops cover 30% of EU land.
In addition, there are notable erosion rates on shrubland and sparse vegetation
with mean soil loss rate of 2.69 t ha–1 yr–1 and 40 t ha–1 yr–1, respectively.
Together, these land cover types occupy 30.8% of the EU (not under agriculture).
A JRC erosion model (Borelli et al. 2017) shows wind erosion in EU is
0.53 Mg ha−1 y−1. 9·7% of arable land has problems with wind erosion, with 5·3%
and 4·4% displaying moderate and high rates of wind erosion, respectively.
However, these will fall in the above estimates of agricultural land.
Area of land failing soil health indicator due to soil erosion = 23% in
cropland and 30% in non-agricultural areas.
5. Compaction
There are very uncertain numbers for compaction. Based on partial data coverage
for the EU (modelling of representative soil profiles), the best available estimates
suggests that 23% of land assessed had critically high densities (JRC 2016). JRC
2009 estimated that 33% of soils are susceptible to compaction, of which 20%
moderately so. The issue is more likely in agricultural soils but it is also found in
organic-rich forest soils so some overlap with (1) and (2). Confirms the multiple
pressures on soil.
Area of land failing soil health indicator due to soil compaction = 23-
33%, 7% of which are outside agricultural area.
6. Pollution including risks to food
There are many unknowns especially in relation to diffuse soil pollution in natural
landscapes (i.e. 52% of EU) and there are more than 700 recognised soil
pollutants (NORMAN, 2014).
In terms of local soil pollution, JRC (Paya Perezet al. 2018) reported 2.8 million
potentially contaminated sites in EEA-39 but the area of land is not known. There
is no standardised agreement on a definition of contaminated sites which can
range from petrochemical plants to petrol stations. An indicator on “Progress on
the remediation of contaminated sites” is based on risk assessment approach
where efforts are mainly focused on investigation of sites where polluting
37
activities took/are taking place. The report noted the occurrence of 650,000
registered sites where polluting activities took/are taking place in national and
regional inventories. 65,500 sites have been remediated.
The Cocoom InterReg Project estimated that there are more than 500,000
landfills in EU. 90% are in regarded as non-sanitary landfills (i.e. predating the
Landfill Directive (1999)). NASA estimates that the average size of landfills in US
is 200 ha. Even if we take just 10% of that value for EU, it would mean that
landfills occupy 100,000 km2 (2.3%) of EU territory (no actual figures exist).
The situation is more complex for diffuse pollution. Numerous studies show the
impact of pollution on soil but it is difficult to assess area or extent. For example,
there are no data on the extent of pesticide contamination, POPs, microplastics,
veterinary products/pharmaceutical, emerging concerns such as pFAS. Pimentel
& Levitan (1986) reported that 3,000 types of pesticides have been applied in EU
agricultural environment during the past 50 years. They estimated that less than
0.1% of the pesticide applied to crops actually reaches the target pest. Of LUCAS
soils tested, 83% of soils contained one or more residue of pesticides and 58%
contained mixtures. (Silva et al. 2019).
De Vries et al. (In prep) and cited in EEA (2020) state 21% of agricultural soils
have cadmium concentrations in the topsoils which exceed groundwater limits
used for drinking waters.
There are 2.93 million km2 (69%) of European land where critical loads are
exceeded for acidification and 2.65 million km2 (62%) of semi-natural ecosystems
are subjected to nutrient nitrogen deposition leading to eutrophication in 2017
(CIAM IIASA 2018). Critical loads are defined where inputs of a pollutant may
impact on ecosystem structure and function. Slootweg et al. (2007) reported that
the EU ecosystem land at risk from deposition of some heavy metals such as
mercury and lead in 2000 were as high as 51% and 29% respectively.
Lema & Martinez (2017) report 10 million tons of sewage sludge production for
EU-27, 37% of the sludge produced in the EU is being utilized in agriculture.
Plastics Europe (2016) reported that 3.3% of total EU plastic demand (49 million
tonnes) was used in agriculture. Agriculture produced 5% of plastic waste of EU
(EC, 2018).
Organic farming covered 13.4 million hectares of agricultural land in the EU-28
in 2018. This corresponds to 7.5 % of the total utilised agricultural area of the
EU-28 (EUROSTAT 2020b). We can assume that pesticides are applied in most of
the remaining 92.5% of arable area (21% of EU). This overlap again with (1) and
(2).
With respect to contamination of food, the bioavailability of soil contaminants for
plant uptake is a complex area as is the pathways of their uptake and the
mechanisms by which they can impact on human health (Gregory and Oliver
2015). Due to this complexity, links between contaminants and specific diseases
38
in individual people needs further study (Hough et al. 2007) as does the impact
of mixtures in food of different contaminants on human health (Hernandez et al.
2013). Some specific examples for the EU are available however such as a study
of the level of heavy metals in agricultural soils in the EU identified over 6% of
soils had levels which could be above those considered adequately safe for food
production. The main source of POP exposure in the Czech Republic is through
intake of polluted food (Bányiová et al., 2017). A FAO report on soil pollution
(Rodriguez-Eugenio et al. 2018) also highlights the potential risk to human health
form contaminated soil from unintentional uptake from dust and vapours by farm
workers, skin contact, ingestion of contaminants. This can include the risk from
pathogens which occur in the soil.
Area of land failing soil health indicator due to soil contamination = 2.5%
(non-agricultural) – 21% (conventional arable) – ca. 40-80% of land
from atmospheric deposition depending on the pollutant.
7. Soil sealing and net land take
Artificial areas cover 4.2% of the EU (EUROSTAT 2017) of which about 50% is
sealed. This would imply that 2.5% of urban land is exposed to pressures (e.g.
low inputs, compaction, pollution)
The rate of net land take was estimated to be around 539 km² per year during
the period 2012-2018, with (EEA 2019). Between 2000 and 2018, 78 % of land
take in the EU-28 affected agricultural areas (EEA 2018). As the rate of recycling
of urban land for development is currently only 13% (EEA 2020), this effectively
means that every ten years an area the size of Cyprus is paved over (9,300 km2)
from agricultural, forestry and conservation land.
Between 2000 and 2006, the average increase in artificial areas in the EU was
3%, however, this masks local issues. Figures exceeding 14% in Cyprus, Ireland
and Spain. However, sealing generally consumes high quality agricultural soil, so
some overlap with (1) and (2).
Area of land failing soil health indicator due to soil sealing = probably
<1% of EU, but can be as high as 2.5%, and can be very important
locally.
8. Salinization
The extent of salinization in EU is still uncertain. Ranges estimate 1 to 4 million
hectares (enlarged EU), mainly in the Mediterranean and Central European
countries (JRC 2008). Taking the higher end of the range means that 0.95% of
land is estimated to be affected in the EU. There is an increased risk of salinization
due to increased temperatures or decreasing precipitation.
In 2016, 10.2 million hectares was actually irrigated (5.9 % of EU). 25% of this
area is at risk of secondary salinization i.e. 1.5% of EU. Spain (15.7 %) and Italy
39
(32.6 %) had the largest shares of irrigable areas in the agricultural areas of the
EU (JRC 2016).
There again will be an overlap with (1) and (2).
Finally, the area at risk of saline intrusions in coastal areas due to sea-level rise
is unknown.
Area of land failing soil health indicator due to secondary salinization =
1.5% (greater impact in certain member States)
9. Desertification
The most recent estimate of sensitivity to desertification in Southern, Central and
Eastern Europe in 2017 suggested 25% (411.000 out of 1.7 million km2) was at
High or Very High Risk. This was an increase from 14% in 2008 (Prăvălie et al.
2017). Due to improved data quality, the extent of land under these high risks
was 75% more than the previous estimation done in 2008. Almost half of the
land area of Spain (~ 240,000 km2) is deemed highly or very highly susceptible
to degradation while large parts of Greece (34%), Bulgaria (29%) and Portugal
(28%) are at high risk. There are also concerns for Italy and Romania, where
around 10% of their territories are highlighted.
10. Soil biodiversity
It is likely that all of the above drivers are probably singly or in combination
resulting in a decline in biodiversity but there are no actual EU data
demonstrating soil biodiversity change.
Summary
Based on the convergence of evidence presented in the previous section, we can
conclude that soil degradation is prevalent and extensive in the context
of the EU territory. One could conclude that all soils are under pressure, even
if just indirect pressure, from air pollution and climate change.
It seems that 25-30% of our EU soils are currently either losing organic carbon,
receiving more nutrients than they need, are eroding or are compacted or suffer
secondary salinization, or have some combination. These are all occurring on
agricultural land.
An additional 30% of non-agricultural soils are eroding at an unsustainable level.
A minimum of 12.9% of non-agricultural land experiences soil pressures [0.6 (low
SOC) + 0.5 (peat) + 7 (compaction) + 2.3 (landfills) + 2.5 (urban)], of which
50% (i.e. 6-7%) is probably not connected with erosion.
Contamination and waste management are probably the biggest
unknowns. They include local hotspots (e.g. ex-industrial land, landfills, etc.),
widespread air pollution legacy, agricultural land (pesticides, metals, sewage
sludge, plastics) as well as unquantified emerging pollutants.
40
Conclusion
A review of the current evidence of the state of EU soils by the MB and
JRC is that current management practices result in, approximately, 60-
70% of EU soils being unhealthy with a further as yet uncertain
percentage unhealthy due to poorly quantified pollution issues. A 75%
goal of healthy or improving soil by 2030 through a radical change in
current land management practices is both feasible and necessary. Soils
will also benefit from improvement to indirect drivers of change such as
reductions in air pollution and carbon emissions.
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44
Annex 2 Indicators for soil health in support of the mission
Soil health depends on an active and biodiverse vegetation cover that support
carbon inputs, supports soil biota and creates good structure, and appropriate
management regimes ensuring no compaction or salinisation and protection from
contaminants.
Soils, that are low in organic matter for their type, compacted or contaminated
by chemicals such as nutrients, heavy metals, remnants of biocides, hormones
and drugs at higher concentrations than allowed by health regulations or plant
requirements are considered to be unhealthy.
The following indicators are well tested (Bünemann et al. 2018) and used widely
at national, regional and global levels (Emmett et al. 2010; Orgiazzi e al. 2018;
Moebius-Clune et al. 2018). The list is modest relative to those already in place
for water and air quality. If sampled correctly (e.g. not after a fertiliser
application) they provide stable indicators for soil health at a given time and of
change if repeated at permanent locations. They include two indicators which
relate to drivers of change in soil health at the landscape scale:
1. Presence of soil pollutants, excess nutrients and salts. When present in
higher concentrations than allowed by health regulations or plant
requirements: soils are unhealthy. A reduction in levels below recognized
threshold values indicates an improvement in soil health.
2. Soil organic carbon. Organic matter is important for adsorbing nutrients,
retaining water and for improving soil structure and workability of soils as well
as plant productivity. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a major constituent (56%)
of soil organic matter and the global soil organic carbon reservoir of soils is
two to three times bigger than the carbon as atmospheric CO2. Therefore, an
increase in SOC concentration and stock allows drawing down CO2 from the
atmosphere and an improvement in soil health.
3. Soil structure including bulk density and the absence of soil sealing
and erosion. Good soil structure as indicated by reduced bulk density, the
absence of soil sealing and erosion allows for healthy root growth, reaching all
parts of the soil and allowing infiltration of rainwater to prevent runoff and soil
loss.
4. Soil biodiversity. Presence of functional diversity of appropriate bacteria and
fungi and of soil animal communities that are important for soil functions and
services, such as soil structure, litter decomposition, organic carbon storage
and nutrients cycling promotes all soil functions. Currently, nematodes and
earthworms are well tested. Ongoing research will soon deliver indicators for
soil microbial parameters.
5. Soil nutrients and pH. Essential nutrients for plant growth in part at least,
derived from soils include N, P, K, S, Ca. A range of plant micro-nutrients
45
usually found at very low concentrations (parts per million) in soils may limit
plant growth, such as boron (B), chlorine (Cl), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron
(Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn). Soil pH affects many
chemical and biological processes, including plant nutrients availability and the
balance and functions of soil microbial communities. In farmland and forestry
soils, an optimal balance is required for growth. In supporting biodiversity-rich
ecosystems, nutrient limitations provide an essential set of sub-optimal
conditions to support a diversity of biota above and below-ground.
6. Vegetation cover. The annual duration and diversity of the vegetation cover
and its net primary productivity is essential for soil health, providing nutrients
for soil biodiversity and carbon inputs to soil organic matter, also reducing
erosion and surface runoff. A more diverse and long duration cover indicates
conditions favourable to soil biodiversity and health and increasing vegetation
cover is also valuable for urban settings.
7. Landscape heterogeneity, including farmland (field size, fragmentation,
presence of natural green elements), forestry (types of forest, monocultures,
clear-cuts with bare land) and urban green infrastructures (adequate
presence). The diversity of landscape elements (composition) and the way
these elements are distributed, including their relative size and their location
in relation to the morphology (configuration) strongly influence biodiversity,
the water cycle and soil erosion.
8. Area of forest and other wooded lands, classified by the number of
species, the share of non-native tree species, and the proportion of natural
and artificial regeneration. In forests, soil health is influenced by the
naturalness in terms of species composition and the management practices,
including disturbance by clear cuts.
Note that measurements are soil-specific showing characteristically
different ranges of values for different soil types, land uses and climate
zones. Methods for capturing information, which can be combined in
different ways, include: visual assessments in field; soil sampling with
profession laboratory analysis; remote sensing; modelling, crowd
sourcing and citizen science. Many methods are already well described
but need standardising if time series are to be robust.
How to determine overall soil health of a given soil?
Once indicators have been measured for a given soil they have to be compared
with threshold or standard values that separate healthy from unhealthy
conditions. Such considerations are land use and climate specific and cannot be
generalized. Research will be needed to define such thresholds or standards for
each indicator for each soil type set within a land use and climate context using
an agreed standard approach.
46
Methods for their integration to determine if a soil meets or falls below the
threshold / standard and thus if a soil can be defined as ‘healthy’ or ‘’unhealthy’
also requires further testing and a standard method agreed. Different health
categories above or below this threshold / standard can also be defined to indicate
the relative state of soil health to help inform the urgency and magnitude of
action needed. This integration into an overall measure of soil health is critical to
be able to monitor the meeting of the mission target for 75% of soils to be healthy
or improving by 2030. Different approaches for this integration are already used
operationally for other natural resources e.g. the one out/all approach for surface
waters in the Water Framework Directive, with various new potential approaches
also proposed for soils (e.g. Bonfante et al. 2020). The suitability of options needs
to be robustly tested and an approach agreed.
When thresholds for any indicator are exceeded, a soil is below the agreed
threshold / standard context specific management actions have to be considered
to improve conditions relating to the specific issue(s) which has caused failure.
Evidence from experiences obtained at living labs or lighthouses in the area can
be helpful here. Continuation of monitoring can then be used to track success of
action taken.
References for Annex 2
Bonfante, A., Basile, A. and Bouma, J. 2020. Targeting the soil quality and soil
health concepts when aiming for the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals and the EU Green Deal. SOIL (doi:10.5194/soil-2020-28)
Bünemann, E. K., Bongiorno, G., Bai, Z., Creamer, R. E., De Deyn, G., de Goede,
R., Fleskens, L., Geissen, V., Kuyper, T. 458 W., Mäder, P., Pulleman, M., Sukkel,
W., van Groenigen, J. W. and Brussaard, L. 2018. Soil quality – A critical review,
Soil Biol. 459 Biochem., 120, 105–125, doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.01.030, 2018.
Emmett, B.A., Reynolds, B., Chamberlain, P.M., Rowe, E., Spurgeon, D., Brittain,
S.A., Frogbrook, Z., Hughes, S., Lawlor, A.J., Poskitt, J., Potter, E., Robinson,
D.A., Scott, A., Wood, C., Woods, C. 2010 Countryside Survey: Soils Report from
2007. Technical Report No. 9/07 NERC/Centre for Ecology & Hydrology 192pp.
(CEH Project Number:C03259). https://countrysidesurvey.org.uk/content/soils-
report-2007
Moebius-Clune, B. N., Moebius-Clune, D. J., Gugino, B. K., Idowu, O. J.,
Schindelbeck, R. R., Ristow, A. J. and others. 2016. : Comprehensive assessment
of soil health: The Cornell Framework Manual, Edition 3.1, Cornell Univ., Ithaca,
NY, 2016.
Orgiazzi, A., Ballabio, C., Panagos, P., Jones, A., and Fernandex-Ugalde, O. 2018.
LUCAS Soil, the larghest expandable soil dataset for Europe: a review. European
Journal of Soil Scienc e 69:140-153.
47
Annex 3 Alignment and support of the mission to EU policies and strategies
This table shows how the mission aligns ‘X’ or ‘Supports’ targets of EU policies and strategies.
Targets of different EU policies
and strategies Biodiversity
EU Nature
restoration
Farm to
Fork
Zero
Pollution
Circular
Economy
Climat
e Law CAP Mission
30% land protected X Supports
Within this, 10% of EU land
should be strictly protected (incl.
significant areas of carbon-rich
ecosystems, such as peatlands,
grasslands, wetlands) (BDS)
X X Supports
Limited soil sealing and urban
sprawl promoting initiatives to
reduce soil sealing (CEAP)
X X X
Restore degraded ecosystems X X X
25% of EU land organically
farmers by 2030
X X X
Protect soil fertility, reduce soil
erosion and increase soil organic
matter
X X X X X
Identify contaminated soil sites,
restore degraded soils;
rehabilitate abandoned or
contaminated brownfields(CEAP)
X X X X
48
Improving monitoring of soil
quality
X X X X
Soil sealing and contaminated
brownfields increase the safe,
sustainable and circular use of
excavated soils (CEAP)
X X X X
Biodiversity-friendly soil cover X X Supports
Reduction in use of fertilisers by
at least 20%; Integrated Nutrient
Management Plan to ensuring
more sustainable application of
nutrients and stimulating the
markets for recovered nutrients;
Reviewing directives on and
sewage sludge (CEAP).
X X Supports
Degraded and carbon-rich rich
ecosystems are restored
X X X
Pesticides reduced by 50% X X X Supports
At least 10% of high diversity
landscape features
X Supports
Urban greening plan X Supports
No use of chemical pesticide in
sensitive areas
X X Supports
EU carbon initiative an certifying
carbon removals
X X X
49
Reduce dependency on pesticides
and anti-microbials; reduce
excess fertilisation and increase
organic farming
X X X X
Neutral or positive environmental
impact of the food chain
X X Supports
Sustainable agricultural practices
in hotspots of livestock farming
X Supports
Recycling of organic waste into
renewable fertilisers
X X Supports
Dedicated partnership on agro-
ecology living laboratories
X X
Use of AI and satellite technology X X X
The natural sink soils, agricultural
lands and wetlands should be
maintained and further increased
X X X
Continuous progress in enhancing
adaptive capacity, strengthening
resilience and reducing
vulnerability to climate change
X X Supports
Develop and implement
adaptation strategies and plans
that include comprehensive risk
management frameworks, based
on robust climate and
vulnerability baselines and
progress assessments.
X Supports
50
Annex 4 Proposed soil relevant indicators for SDG Goals
SDG’s Proposed soil related indicators for SDGs
SDG 1: No Poverty Soil health to fight rural poverty
% degraded land in a given country or region
SDG2: Zero Hunger Soil health for sustainable agriculture and forestry
% of land area in a given country/region with healthy soils
SDG3: Good health
and well-being
Soil health for healthy and sustainable diets and urban
environments
% of land area with contaminated soils
% of food supply from a given region that is healthy in terms of nutrient
content
% of food supply from a given region that is safe in terms of chemical
contamination.
SDG4: Quality
education
Soil health for education
% of primary and secondary schools that present
environmental courses including the role of soils.
% of land managers with Continuing Professional
Development
SDG 6: Clean water
and sanitation
Soil health and landscapes for water.
% of land area that has ground- and surface water of good ecological quality
% of area where soil conservation practices are implemented
SDG7: Affordable and
clean energy
Soil health supporting sustainable bioenergy
production
% of area used for energy crops
SDG11: Sustainable
cities and communities
Soil health for supporting city greening and urban
agriculture
% of non-residential areas of cities with healthy soils
% of green infrastructure in urban settings
SDG 12: Sustainable
production and
consumption patterns
Soil health supporting a circular bioeconomy
Global ecological footprint of soil use and management
% of schools with education at an early stage to enable
changes in consumption
SDG 13: Climate
action
Soil health for climate change mitigation and
adaptation
51
Net mitigation (in tons CO2eq per km2) achieved through soil
carbon sequestration and associated options in land fit for
this purpose.
% change in healthy soils by 2050 under current land use
and management , as explored by applying simulation
models coupled to IPCC scenarios.
% of land where greenhouse gas emissions have significantly
been reduced
SDG15: Life on Land Soils for supporting biodiversity
% land with healthy soils
% of land where soils have stable or improving levels of soil
biodiversity
% of a landscape with vegetation biodiversity
% of land protected for nature conservation purposes to
protect unusual soil biological assemblages
SDG16: Peace, justice
and strong institutions
Soil health supported by an enabling environment
Better governance through holistic policy making to ensure environmental quality, including soils.
Protecting of soils and landscapes that carry our cultural
heritage
These soil health indicators should be seen in the context of the existing SDG
indicators included by EUROSTAT and also with indicators for drivers of soil health
throughout the food chain, from production to consumption. Proposed examples
include: % of pre- and postharvest losses of agricultural food and feed
production; amount of food waste from production, trade and consumption and
sustainable and traceable food and feed chains (for SDG 2) or % of exploitation
(recycling) of by-products, wastes, and package materials in a cycling system
(for SDG 3).
52
Annex 5 The mission as a response to the corona pandemic
In their May 9, 2020 issue, the ECONOMIST included a three-page briefing on:
The tables not yet turned”, discussing the major implications of the corona
pandemic on food security in the world. Four-fifth of the planet’s 8 billion
inhabitants are fed in part by imports. The $1.5 trn spent last year on food
imports was three times that spent in the 2000’s so our reliance on globalisation
of the food chain is increasing rapidly. This means that as more countries depend
on imports of food, the disruption of the chain caused by coronavirus could trigger
a repeat of the food crisis of 2007-2008 that sparked riots from Bangladesh and
Burkina Faso to Mauritania and Mexico, and contributed to the conditions that
fostered Syria’s civil war. Exporting countries are also at risk and will have to
rethink the size and form of their food chain.
Independent from the corona crisis, the Mission Board of Soil Health and Food
(hereafter call the mission) proposes that these globalised food chains are not
only resulting in insecure food supply, as mentioned above, but also by
supporting highly industrialized forms of agriculture that may adversely affect
environmental- and food quality and, as a result, human health. For example,
growing soya for feeding cattle in Europe has resulted in deforestation in the
Amazon. In addition, infectious diseases may spread more easily. The mission
advocates this situation is reversed with a reduction of the global footprint of
European agriculture and, wider application of ecological management
procedures for food production where not only production levels are emphasized
but also the quality of food, water, air and nature. Soil health and circularity
emphasizing local food chains play a key role in such production systems that can
be studied in “Lighthouses” and “Living Labs” in close cooperation with land users.
A good example is the Market Gardening system where high-quality food is locally
produced in a short chain between producer and consumer. Scientific evidence
shows that such locally produced food strengthens the immune system making
people less susceptible to infections. More sustainable management practices will
also protect the soil biome which is a reservoir of future potential therapeutic
compounds including new antibiotics and antibiotic-resistance genes. Evidence is
also just emerging about additional potential for soil bacteria to be used
therapeutically to reduce stress and improve quality of life. Damaging
management practices currently contributing to soil degradation has an unknown
impact on this untapped potential. Some practices even have the potential to
cause direct damage to health of people through increasing risk of pathogen
transfers and increasing antimicrobial resistance through the soil matrix into the
water and food production system. Soils should be at the heart of rebuilding a
sustainable green future.
As described above, the corona crisis demonstrates the vulnerability of the global
food system but we have to realize that this all occurs in a condition where
worldwide there is enough food being produced. Still, more than 800 million world
citizens are hungry but that is due to war, poor distribution systems from farm
53
to fork or poor governance and corruption. We must also realize that we live a
world where up to 30% of food is wasted and where more than a billion people
are obese.
When considering the upheaval caused by the corona pandemic in a world of
plenty, imagine what may happen if there is no food surplus in future? The MBSHF
has emphasized that climate change will most likely have a dramatic effect on
the amount of food that can be produced by, say, 2050. Future exploratory
climate scenarios by the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) show that
conditions in many countries may become too dry and hot to allow productive
agriculture and may even make human life very difficult, if not impossible. Fresh
water is in short supply in many areas of the world, limiting the potential for
irrigation. Higher intensity showers may cause more erosion and landslides. Also,
the projected sea level rise may flood poorly protected but productive areas of
land near seas and rivers. Many of our productive lands are also increasingly
covered by roads and buildings, sealing the soil forever and strongly reducing the
available area of productive agricultural soils. This needs to be stopped.
Drier and hotter conditions are likely to occur in Southern Europe but also in the
Middle East, the Western US and large parts of Asia, South America and Africa,
the latter continent having the highest projected population growth. Large areas
at high Northern latitudes, like Northern Canada or Siberia may, in theory,
become more suitable for agriculture, but soil conditions are generally poor in
these areas and there is no agricultural infrastructure. What is left are areas with
currently moderate climates. Globally, little research has been done to properly
assess the effects of climate change on future agricultural production,
emphasizing the role of soils. Pioneering studies by Italian scientists predict
alarming drops of productivity of up to 40% by 2070 and this is particularly
evident in soils with poor health, due to various degradation processes like
compaction, loss of organic matter or pollution. Of course, genetic improvement
of crops can help to make crops less sensitive to extreme weather conditions but
this will not be adequate to face predicted climate conditions. Market Gardening,
ecological farming and vertical farming in city settings may produce significant
quantities of vegetables, herbs and fruits in future but this may not be enough
and does not cover crops like wheat, rice, sorghum and others that are grown at
scale in the field and are the main food staple.
The mission proposes new, operational methods to assess soil health and to apply
simulation models for the soil-water-atmosphere-plant system to explore future
effects of climate change on crop production. This way, areas can be identified
where soils are likely to remain healthy enough and where climate conditions still
may allow adequate production levels in future, considering climate change
scenarios. And most importantly and urgent: this should lead to immediate efforts
to protect these soils for future generations. The EU can play a leading role here
initiating a global effort.
54
We now witness the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on food security due to
breakdown of the international food chain but this occurs in a world where enough
food is produced. One can only imagine “dark scenarios” for a world where not
enough food would be available because too many soils cannot produce enough
food as a result of climate change and soil degradation. This would most likely lead
to the need of massive flows of food from North to South. The Food and Agricultural
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that the 9.7 billion people that
will inhabit the earth by 2050 will require a 50% increase in food production
compared with current levels. The FAO also shows that more than 25% of our
global soils are degraded now and this affects production levels significantly. This
can be improved by corrective forms of soil management, as defined by the
mission. This will represent a contribution to increase the food production potential.
In addition, and more importantly, proposals by the mission to define areas with
healthy soils by 2050 and proposals to preserve them are more than ever a crucial
contribution to food security in future. The indicators and technology to define such
areas are available so there is no excuse for delay. Remember that soils are and
always will be the basis for food production. Losing their productive potential by
degradation and preserving soils immediately that can still be healthy and
productive by 2050, present a deadly recipe for our future world. Soil health and
food is more relevant than ever.
Considering the above, the following research priorities can be envisioned to link
the mission to future food security and human health by exploring the:
soil-health potential of major European soil, including the effects of soil
degradation, by considering IPCC climate-change scenarios up to the year
2100
role of major European soils on global food security, considering IPCC climate-
change scenarios up to the year 2100
effects of the global food chain on soil- and human health in both importing
and exporting countries with the goal to reduce the global EU footprint.
therapeutic potential of the EU soil biome to support the mental and physical
health of citizens post Covid and management practices to minimise risk of
pathogen and AMR transfer through the soil matrix.
possibility to create a financial intermediary that explicitly concentrates on
facilitating the transition to organic and other environmentally friendly farming
by supplying or guaranteeing long-term loans.
55
Annex 6 Communication and citizen engagement
Communication and citizen engagement are key elements for the success of the
mission Caring for soil is caring for life, and in general to bring research and
innovation closer to societal needs.
Towards a communication strategy and meaningful citizen engagement
The mission board, supported by Commission services prepared a communication
strategy intended as a living document and that will serve as a basis for
comprehensive actions in this field according to the following goals:
INFORM: raise awareness of the importance of soil health and food and the
challenges they faces.
ENTHUSE: use emotive language and strong visual content to convince that we
need to act together to achieve the mission
ENGAGE: offer meaningful opportunities for citizens and stakeholders to engage
in the co-design/co-creation, co-implementation and co-assessment.
Some of the barriers that the mission should overcome in its implementation to
ensure meaningful citizen engagement are: the potential disconnection between
development proponents and the local populations; and the inadequate planning
and funding (for instance, societal awareness campaigns should be an important
component of projects and an adequate budget should be allocated to implement
communication and citizen engagement activities).
Tools and materials
The web presence of the mission area soil health and food is guaranteed though
its webpage. Documents of Mission Board meetings are uploaded in the EC expert
group registry.
DG AGRI and DG Research and Innovation social media channels are used for
widespread communication of messages and activities with the hastaghs
#MissionSoil #EUmissions #HorizonEurope.
At the occasion of the World Soil Day 2019 a video (Soil matter, below), an article
(Soil matters for our future, below), a EUSurvey, and the #EIPagriSoil campaign
were launched.
Articles
Soil matters for our future
Healthy Agricultural Soils: 24 European countries coordinate unprecedented
research programme
Citizen Dialogue in Sofia with Commissioner Gabriel on missions
56
Videos
Soil matters
Horizon Europe Missions
Salon de l’Agriculture – Plateau télé - AGRI Director Nathalie Sauze
Vandevyver and Board member Jean-Francois Soussana
Online material to get involved
Quiz
Apple soil game
Events
Members of the Mission Board have promoted the mission area Soil Health and
Food at numerous all around Europe (see examples at end of this Annex),
reaching more than 1000 people. They also participated in dedicated citizen
engagement activities, as highlighted below and published articles for national
and international audiences.
Citizen engagement
The Horizon Europe provisional agreement specifies that missions are:
“intended to … have impact on society and policy-making through science and
technology; and be relevant for a significant part of the European population and
a wide range of European citizens” (Art. 2). They shall “encourage broad
engagement and active participation of … citizens and end-users … and … be open
to multiple, bottom-up approaches and solutions taking into account human and
societal needs and benefits and recognizing the importance of diverse
contributions to achieve these missions” (Art. 7.3).
Why is citizen engagement important?
To inspire society at large, missions need to have widespread legitimacy and
acceptance
Balancing top-down and bottom-up perspectives can make innovation
processes richer, better informed, and more likely to be adopted;
Public value represents not just what citizens demand today, but what they
may need or desire in the future;
Co-design gives societal ownership of the missions’ goals and objectives,
ensuring that missions have longevity;
Citizen scientists and innovators can have added value and complement the
implementation of missions;
Co-assessment can ensure that mission’s outcomes are aligned with the
needs, values and expectations of society.
57
Examples of citizen engagement events in the co-design phase
World Soil Day – launch of EUSurvey, communication campaign, 5 Dec.
2019
Workshop at the COP25 – Madrid, 12 December 2019
Mission Café – Vienna, 16 January 2020
International Green Week – Berlin, 17-26 January 2020
Citizen dialogue – Sofia, 31 January 2020
Public hearing at European Parliament, 18 February 2020
Salon de l’Agriculture – Paris, 22-29 March 2020
European Youth Forum – online event, 10 June 2020
Citizen engagement event in Czech Republic following agreed
methodology for all missions – online, 22 June 2020
Stakeholder Event (online): Missions in Horizon Europe – Missions
Climate, Soil and Cities – Portugal, 16 June 2020
Citizen engagement event in Portugal following agreed methodology
for all missions – online, 09 July 2020
A New Mission to Improve Soil Health, Teagasc Research Insights
Webinars – Ireland, 26 August 2020
R&I days 2020 –online event, 22-24 September 2020
European Week of Regions and Cities: Caring for soil is caring for
life – an EU mission to protect healthy soil for food, people, nature
and climate – online event, 22 October 2020
Survey and online platform
Since December 2019 to September 2020 a EU survey available in English,
French, German, Polish, Portuguese, and Czech was collecting inputs online,
receiving more than 2.500 contributions. In addition, since summer 2020 an
online platform was developed to keep a constant dialogue with people willing
to contribute to the mission.
Other online activities to get involved
58
Table: Examples of communication and engagement events during the co-creation phase of the mission
Date Place Event Communication and engagement events on mission
area Soil Health and Food and the mission Caring for
Soil is Caring for Life
25-09-
2019
Brussels,
Belgium
R&I days session on “Soil
health and food” mission
Launch of the work of the mission area on Soil Health and Food
19-20-
11-2019
Santarem,
Portugal
EIP AGRI focus group on soil
contamination
Presentation and debate with farmers, advisors, scientists
25-11-
2019
Brussels,
Belgium
Soil and the SDGs Presentation by Mission Board Chair Cees Veerman; debate with
science and stakeholders
05-12-
2019
Online/global World Soil Day Citizen engagement: launch of EUSurvey, communication
campaign
https://ec.europa.eu/info/horizon-europe-next-research-and-
innovation-framework-programme/missions-horizon-
europe/soil-health-and-food_en
05-12-
2019
Rome, Italy Healthy Soil Day Italy establishes the National Soil Day - conference with Mission
Board Member Catia Bastioli
59
12-12-
2019
Madrid,
Spain
Stakeholder workshop at COP
25 on Horizon workshop
missions
Stakeholder engagement on mission area Soil Health and Food
with participation of Mission Board member Carmen Vela
13-12-
2019
Santiago de
Compostela,
Spain
Fronteras Codigo 100 (event
on health innovation)
Presentation of the mission area by Mission Board member
Carmen Vela
15-01-
2020
Brussels,
Belgium
Brussels Briefing Presentation of the mission area Soil health and food by Mission
Board member Emile Frison; target group policy makers, civil
society
16-01-
2020
Vienna,
Austria
Mission Café Stakeholder engagement with participation of Mission Board
member Alfred Grand
17-26/01
2020
Berlin,
Germany
Fair: International Green
Week
Citizen engagement at fair with wide audience (incl. awareness
raising, games, sounding of views)
27-01-
2020
Rome, Italy Launch of ReSoil Foundation Presentation of the mission area Soil health and food by Mission
Board member Catia Bastioli; debate with stakeholders
27-
28/01/20
20
Katowice,
Poland
International Conference,
Towards a green economy,
Exchange of experiences of
European coal regions
M. Pogrzeba participated as member of the Mission Board. Panel
discussion on soil restoration on postindustrial areas with
promotion of the mission area; policy-science debate
https://ecosilesia.slaskie.pl/czytaj/to_build_a_green_deal
60
30-01-
2020
Verona, Italy Forum on Composting and
Anaerobic Digestion at
Fieragricola
Presentation of the mission area Soil health and food by Mission
Board member Catia Bastioli; debate with stakeholders
31-01-
2020
Sofia,
Bulgaria
Horizon Europe Citizen
Dialogue
Citizen engagement on mission area Soil Health and Food with
participation of Mission Board member Lachezar Hristov Filchev
Jan– June
2020
Wageningen,
Netherlands
Student challenge of
Wageningen University “Make
all soils healthy again”
Students’ engagement initiative with participation of Board
Members Johan Bouma and Cees Veerman; see website:
www.wur.eu/soilchallenge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF0bVTauIsE
06-02-
2020
Lancaster,
United
Kingdom
Soil Policy Event, UKCEH Presentation of the mission area Soil health and food by Mission
Board member Bridget Emmett; policy and stakeholder
engagement event
18-02-
2020
Brussels,
Belgium
Public hearing at European
Parliament
Policy discussion with members of the European Parliament
18-02-
2020
Budapest,
Hungary
Discussion forum about soils
in Hungary
Presentation of the mission area Soil health and food by Mission
Board member Borbala Biro; debate and engagement with
farmers
61
22-29/03
2020
Paris, France Salon de l’Agriculture Citizen engagement at fair with wide audience (incl. awareness
raising, games, sounding of views)
25-02-
2020
Paris, France Plateau télé at Salon de
l'agriculture - A mission for
European Soils
Interview with wide coverage on the mission area Soil health and
food by European Commission’s DG AGRI Director Nathalie
Sauze-Vandevyver and Mission Board member Jean-François
Soussana
26-02-
2020
Brussels,
Belgium
Final celebratory meeting of
FACCE SURPLUS, VLAIO -
Flanders Innovation &
Entrepreneurship
Presentation of the mission area Soil health and food by Mission
Board member Marta Pogrzeba; debate with stakeholders and
programme funders
https://ietu.pl/en/miscomar-project-at-the-facce-surplus-final-
conference-in-brussels-2/
26-02-
2020
Paris, France Salon de l'agriculture - official
launch of the soil data layer in
FR national infrastructure for
geographical data
Presentation of the mission area by Mission Board Member Jean-
Francois Soussana; debate engagement with science.
26-02-
2020
Budapest,
Hungary
Forum for Hungarian Chamber
of Agriculture, Horticulture
and Rural Development.
Meeting and Discussion
Presentation of the mission area Soil health and food by Mission
Board Member Borbala Biro; debate with farmers
62
04-06-
03-2020
Wageningen,
Netherlands
H2020 CSA CIRCASA project
on agricultural soil carbon
sequestration
Presentation of the mission area by Mission Board Chair Cees
Veerman; debate with science
https://www.circasa-project.eu/About-us/What-is-CIRCASA
01-04-
2020
Online event,
United
Kingdom
The Royal Society - Soil
structure and its benefits
Presentation of the mission area by Mission Board member
Bridget Emmett; debate with science and stakeholders from
farming and conservation
06-05-
2020
Vilnius,
Lithuania
Info day „Bio-based
Industries opportunities in
the Horizon 2020 and Horizon
Europe“ (virtual)
Presentation of mission area by Mission Board Member Zita
Kriauciuniene; debate with industry and science
‘
07-05-
2020
Online event,
Italy
The future of the Italian Wine,
quality, sustainability and
territory
Presentation of mission area by Mission Board Member Catia
Bastioli; debate with stakeholders from the wine sector
(producers and industry)
15-05-
2020
Online
workshop,
Netherlands
“Mission oriented innovation
policies” (on policies)
Series of workshops organised by the Copernicus Institute of the
University of Utrecht with participation of Mission Board member
Johan Bouma (45 participants from 14 countries (including
Australia, South Korea, Japan)
10-06-
2020
Online event,
Italy
Suolo fertile per il Green New
Deal italiano
Policy-science debate to promote the themes of soils and an EU
directive on soil health. Mission Board member Catia Bastioli
participated at event of the LIFE Project Soil4Life coordinated by
the Italian NGO Legambiente and Selena-Istria.
63
10-06-
2020
Online event
all over
Europe
European Youth Forum Citizen engagement with students and young professionals;
participation of Mission Board member Alfred Grand
14-06-
2020
Online event,
Italy
"La risorsa sotto i piedi:
ripartiamo dalla
valorizzazione del suolo". (the
resource under our feet:
restart from the valorisation
of soil)
Live streaming with a focus on climate/ environment and soils
with participation of Mission Board member Catia Bastioli;
industry – science – citizens audience
16-06-
2020
Online event,
Portugal
Missions in Horizon Europe –
Missions Climate, Soil and
Cities
Stakeholder Event with participation of Mission Board member
Teresa Pinto Correia
22-06-
2020
Online event,
Czech
Republic
Citizen engagement: Horizon
Europe mission area Soil
Health and Food
Citizen engagement event following agreed methodology for all
missions with participation of Mission Board member Emil
Cienciala
09-07-
2020
Online event,
Portugal
Citizen engagement: Horizon
Europe mission area Soil
Health and Food
Citizen engagement event following agreed methodology for all
missions with participation of Mission Board member Teresa Pinto
Correia
64
10-07-
2020
Online event,
Italy
Meeting of Strategic Partners
of the University of
Gastronomic Science of
Pollenzo (Carlin Petrini)
Dialogue with the gastronomic sector with participation of Mission
Board member Catia Bastioli. Special video recording by Carlo
Petrini, Founder of Slow Food for mission Caring for Soil is Caring
for Life (possible adaptation of the movie for other engagement
actions)
27-07-
2020
Online event,
Spain
Engagement event on mission
area Soil Health and Food
Engagement event with stakeholders from practice and academia
with participation of Mission Board member Carmen Vela
20-07-
2020
Online event,
Italy
Presentation of the 2020
report of ISPRA-SNPA:
"Consumption of soil,
territorial dynamics and
ecosystemic services"
Presentation of proposed mission by Mission Board member Catia Bastioli; dialogue with science
26-08-
2020
Online event,
Ireland
A New Mission to Improve Soil
Health,
Teagasc Research Insights Webinars with participation of Mission Board member Jean-François Soussana
08-09-
2020
Vienna,
Austria
27th Conference of the
Working Group Sustainability
of the Danube Regions
Presentation and debate on mission with regional stakeholders from the Danube region and international partners: regional,
national authorities, farming and food sectors, science.
Participation of Mission Board Chair Cees Veerman
16-09-
2020
Online Kick off meeting of EJP Soil Presentation of proposed mission by Mission Board member
Borbala Biro; debate with science and programme funders
65
18-09-
2020
Online
workshop,
Netherlands
Mission oriented innovation
policies (on coordination)
Series of workshops organised by the Copernicus Institute of the
University of Utrecht, were Johan Bouma actively participated. 45
participants from 14 countries (including Australia, South Korea,
Japan) took part in the meeting.
22-09-
2020
Online event,
Poland
Polish National Soil Platform
Scientific conference
"Integration and
improvement of Polish soil
classification systems -
agricultural, forest and
anthropogenic soils"
Presentation of proposed mission by Mission Board member
Marta Pogrzeba; scientific debate
http://www.iung.pulawy.pl/index.php?option=com_content&vie
w=article&id=2512:konferencja-integracja-i-doskonalenie-
systemow-klasyfikacji-gleb-polski-gleby-rolnicze-lene-i-
antropogeniczne&catid=36:konferencje
24-26/09
2020
Online event,
Lithuania
Virtual exhibition ”Inno
Panorama 2020”
Exhibition and seminar with participation from Mission Board
members Zita Kriauciuniene and Alfred Grand
Planned:
05-10-
2020
Online event
(tbc)
Stakeholder event on mission
Caring for Soil is Caring for
Life
National stakeholder debate with participation by Mission Board
Member Bridget Emmett
66
Planned:
22-10-
2020
Online event European Week of Regions
and Cities: Caring for soil is
caring for life – an EU mission
to protect healthy soil for
food, people, nature and
climate
Engagement event with broad range of stakeholders including
representatives from local and regional government
67
Annex 7 Potential mission support from EU and national programmes and initiatives
Mission
objectives and
building
blocks
Targets by 2030 and
ambitions under mission
building blocks
Links with EU and global policies,
strategies and objectives
(selected examples8)
Synergies and potential support
from EU Programmes and
Instruments
(selected examples)
Objective 1:
Reduce land
degradation,
including
desertification
and salinization
Objective 2:
Conserve and
increase soil
organic carbon
stocks
Objective 3:
No net soil
sealing;
increase the re-
use of urban
T1.1: 50% of degraded
land is restored
T2.1: Current carbon
concentration losses on
cultivated land (0.5% per
year) are reversed to an
increase by 0.1-0.4% per
year
T2.2: The area of
peatlands losing carbon is
reduced by 30-50%
T3.1: The current rate of
soil re-use is increased
from current 13% to 50%
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs)
European Green Deal
o Farm to Fork
o Biodiversity strategy
o EU Adaptation strategy
(under preparation)
o Zero Pollution Action Plan
(under preparation)
o EU Climate Law
o EU Climate Pact
o EU Circular Economy
Action Plan
CAP (including CAP new
payment schemes) and CAP
Strategic Plans
The European Innovation
Partnership Agriculture (EIP
AGRI)
CAP networks
NextGenerationEU, including
Recovery and Resilience
Facility
European Regional
Development Fund and
Cohesion Fund (including
Interreg programme)
European Social Fund
8 Based on currently available information, September 2020. Many programmes and initiatives are still under negotiation and/or subject to agreement
on the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework.
68
soils for urban
development
Objective 4:
Reduce soil
pollution and
enhance
restoration
Objective 5:
Prevent
erosion. with
unsustainable
erosion rates
Objective 6:
Improve soil
structure to
enhance habitat
quality for soil
biota and crops
Objective 7:
Reduce the EU
global footprint
on soils
Objective 8:
Increase soil
literacy in
T4.1: At least 25% area of
EU farmland under organic
agriculture
T4.2: A further 5-25% of
land with reduced risk from
eutrophication, pesticides,
anti-microbials and other
contaminants
T4.3: A doubling of the
rate of restoration of
polluted sites.
T5.1: Stop erosion on 30-
50% of land with
unsustainable erosion
rates.
T6.1: Soils with high-
density subsoils are
reduced by 30 to 50%.
T7.1: The impact of EU’s
food and biomass imports
on land degradation are
reduced by 20-40%.
T8.1: soil health is firmly
embedded in schools and
educational curricula.
T8.2: uptake of soil health
training by land managers
is increased.
o EU Forest strategy
(under preparation)
Common Agriculture Policy (CAP)
EU Nature Restoration
Updated Bioeconomy Strategy
EU-Africa Strategy
Smart and Sustainable Mobility
Strategy 2020
Urban Mobility Initiative – for
2021
Soil Thematic Strategy (ongoing
update)
Global Soil partnership
Global research alliance on
agricultural greenhouse gases
LIFE programme
EU Digital Package, the Digital
Europe Programme and digital
experimentation facilities
Connecting Europe Facility
EU Soil Observatory
Copernicus programme
Horizon 2020: Art. 185 PRIMA
Horizon Europe - all pillars incl.
planned missions (on Climate
Adaptation, Oceans, Cities and
Cancer) and partnerships on:
Biodiversity
Agro-ecology
Sustainable food systems
Water for all
69
society across
Member States
T8.3: understanding of
impact of consumer
choices on soil health is
increased.
Building
Block 1:
Ambitious R&I
Programme
Deliver research results,
innovation and knowledge
Cross-cutting objective on
innovation, knowledge exchange
and digitalisation of the CAP
Support to building of European
Research Area
European Education Area
Soil Atlas of Europe
All parts of Horizon Europe
National R&I programmes
Erasmus+ Programme
European Universities Initiative
“Researchers at Schools”
initiative
European Institute of
Innovation and Technology
(EIT)
European Innovation Council
Creative Europe Programme
Building
Block 2: Co-
creation and
sharing in
Living
Laboratories
and Lighthouses
In the first years of the Mission
at least five, preferably 10 living
labs and/or lighthouses in each
of the regions of the EU. This
will result in 1000 – 2000 living
labs and lighthouses as
incubators and demonstrators
of change.
International and European
strategies and approaches to
Living Labs
Horizon Europe
Agro-ecology partnership: living
labs and research infrastructure
CAP (including CAP new
payment schemes) and CAP
Strategic Plans
70
EIP-AGRI (European Innovation
Partnership of agricultural
productivity and sustainability)
EIT Climate-KIC Deep
Demonstration programmes
Food Deep Demonstration
programme
European Experiential Learning
Lab on Soil Science –Erasmus
cooperation project and
platform
NextGenerationEU, including
Recovery and Resilience Facility
LIFE programme
Interreg programme
Erasmus+ Programme
Building
Block 3:
Soil monitoring
programme
Improved ways for
monitoring the status of
soils
A robust soil monitoring
programme in each MS
following established
indicators
Biodiversity Strategy
Farm-to-Fork Strategy
Integrated Nutrient Management
Action Plan (2022)
Commission proposal for
Regulation on support for CAP
Strategic Plans (2018)
Horizon Europe
JRC, EU Soil Observatory as a
repository of mission outcomes
and of LUCAS soil
LIFE programme
European Space Agency (ESA)
for Society
Copernicus programme
71
Soil Thematic Strategy update
(ongoing process)
National monitoring
programmes
JRC Support Programmes
Building
Block 4:
Communication
and citizen
engagement
Raising citizens and land
managers awareness to
the need for a
transformative change in
land use practices
Support consumers to
understand and valorise
healthy soils services
EU communication and citizen
engagement strategies
National communication and
citizens engagement strategies
Citizen driven innovation
strategies
EU and national/NGO
communication and citizen
engagement campaigns
World soil day campaign
EU citizens’ dialogue
National education curricula
EU Researchers at Schools”
initiative
Communication and awareness
raising activities of the EIP-
AGRI Network
EIP-AGRI Focus Groups
EIP-AGRI workshops and
seminars, networking events
The Creative Europe
Programme
The European Solidary Corps
72
Annex 8 A Manifesto for citizens
Mission: Caring for soil is caring for life - ensure 75% of soils are
healthy by 2030 for food, people, nature and climate
Why are healthy soils important?
Soils forms the skin of the earth and are essential for all life-sustaining processes
on our planet. If soils are healthy and are managed sustainably, they provide
many benefits to people, nature and climate. Healthy soils are essential in
delivering healthy food and other essential ecosystem services to humankind,
such as the production of biomass, the purification of percolating water and
avoiding surface water pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, carbon
capture for climate mitigation and last but not least preservation of biodiversity.
But soil health is threatened all over Europe and globally. Mostly through chemical
pollution, biocide residues, plastics or excess tillage and loss of organic matter.
This can strongly affect the level of food production and its quality. Moreover,
climate change exacerbates these threats. Scenarios for the EU indicate an
increasing vulnerability of the soil’s natural capital to desertification throughout
this century. Even though there is enough food at present, globally climate
change may result in structural shortages by 2050 as many areas become too
hot and dry for plant growth while fertile soils along rivers and seas may flood
due to sea level rise.
In the EU, soil sealing, loss of soil organic carbon and biodiversity, compaction,
erosion by both water and wind, salinization and soil contamination lead to annual
costs that may exceed9 50 billion €. So preserving and restoring soil health is a
pressing need even for the near future. The EU has committed itself to preserve
soils and its manifold ecosystems services, amongst others by accepting the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and recently the EU Green Deal.
In view of these facts, the Mission on Soil, Health and Food is timely, logical and
essential.
Five underlying principles have guided the efforts of the members of the Mission
Board ”Soil, Health and Food”:
1. Missions should be instrumental to the Green Deal and the Sustainable
Development Goals. That means that scientific projects and applications will
be assessed against their practical contributions to solutions for societal needs
and problems and to new approaches to reach the Mission Goals.
9 Costs were estimated at €38 billion annually for 25 EU countries (The Implementation of the Soil Thematic Strategy and Ongoing Activities EC, 2012)
but this figure did not include costs from biodiversity decline, sealing or compaction.
73
2. Soil should not be considered solely from an economic point of view as a usable
stock of wealth that can be exploited (like a mine or a well). Soils are a
complex organism that act as a fund that continuously delivers ecosystem
services. Therefore, soil should be preserved and taken care of. Soil also has
a value in itself, with its use subject to ethical standards that yield for every
living organism.
3. Scientific contributions and technical solutions alone will not be sufficient to
realize the ‘Great Transformation’ as is incorporated in the Green Deal.
Changes in existing support systems and soil management, dissemination of
objective information and monitoring of outcomes are indispensable elements
to support the necessary restoration of soil health for people and planet as a
whole.
4. Interdisciplinary scientific methods based on a system approach - firmly
embedding human and social sciences - are of vital importance in developing
a broad holistic view in order to prevent ‘path dependent‘ solutions and
facilitate a break trough of new ideas and unusual but effective
implementations.
5. Citizen engagement is vital not only for acceptance but to ensure ownership
of citizens for measures to be taken, to stimulate a change in the mindset of
consumers and producers, and also to tap and create new ideas, from ‘the
wisdom of the crowd’. This should be organized and facilitated in a bottom-up
manner and not top-down. It is crucial to let the movements of change
gradually grow as a true and strong performance of civil society to secure a
sustainable future by itself and for itself and future generations.
The Mission Board Soil, Health and Food proposes to engage into a process of
change to realize the following ambitions about making soils healthy again.
The main goal of mission Caring for soil is caring for life: By 2030, at
least 75% of soils in each EU Member States are healthy, or show a
significant improvement towards meeting acceptable thresholds, to
support ecosystem services10.
This goal corresponds to a 100% increase in healthy soils. In line with the above
goal, the following objectives and targets will be achieved by 203011:
10 “By ecosystem services we mean the services provided and the benefits people derive from
these services, both at the ecosystem and at the landscape scale, including public goods related to the wider ecosystem functioning and society well-being” (Haines-Young and Potschin 2018; MA 2005)
11 Goal, objectives and targets are at the EU scale and feasible. However, they will require a large transformation that will not be easy to trigger across all EU regions in the given timeframe.
74
Objective 1: Reduce land degradation, including desertification and
salinization.
Target 1.1: 50% of degraded land is restored moving beyond
land degradation neutrality.
Objective 2: Conserve (e.g. in forests, permanent pastures, wetlands) and
increase soil organic carbon stocks.
Target 2.1: current carbon concentration losses on cultivated
land (0.5% per year) are reversed to an increase by 0.1-0.4%
per year;
Target 2.2: the area of managed peatlands losing carbon is
reduced by 30-50%.
Objective 3: No net soil sealing and increase the re-use of urban soils
for urban development.
Target 3.1: switch from 2.4% to no net soil sealing;
Target 3.2: the current rate of soil re-use is increased from
current 13% to 50% to help meet the EU target of no net land
take by 2050.
Objective 4: Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration
Target 4.1: at least 25% area of EU farmland under organic
agriculture;
Target 4.2: a further 5-25% of land with reduced risk from
eutrophication, pesticides, anti-microbials and other
agrochemicals and contaminants;
Target 4.3: a doubling of the rate of restoration of polluted
sites.
Objective 5: Prevent erosion
Target 5.1: stop erosion on 30-50% of land with unsustainable
erosion rates.
Objective 6: Improve soil structure to enhance habitat quality for soil biota
and crops.
Target 6.1: soils with high-density subsoils are reduced by 30
to 50%.
Objective 7: Reduce the EU global footprint on soils.
Target 7.1: the impact of EU’s food, timber and biomass
imports on land degradation are reduced by 20-40 %.
Objective 8: Increase soil literacy in society across Member States.
75
Target 8.1: soil health is firmly embedded in schools and
educational curricula;
Target 8.2: uptake of soil health training by land managers
and advisors is increased;
Target 8.3: understanding of impact of consumer choices on
soil health is increased.
How can we support soil health through research and innovation? The
Board strongly advises the following approaches:
Much expertise in the area of Soil Health and Food is already available after many
years of research and experiences obtained in practice. The limitations of
approaches that focus primarily on production and consumption from an
economic point of view have increasingly become evident in terms of negative
environmental side effects on water, nature and biodiversity. To face the
formidable challenges ahead of us on soil, health and food (as for instance
mentioned in UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Green Deal) we propose
a paradigm shift, a fundamental change in the way we approach the problems
the Mission is about. This implies, in summary, that:
(i) rather than being considered as a stock to be exploited, soils are considered
as a precious living organism and an indispensable resource to be cared for; (ii)
soils not only produce marketable products as food, fibers, etc., but also public
goods, like beauty of the landscapes, biodiversity, or recreation services. These
values without a market price deserve more emphasis; (iii) the highly adaptive
character of land use is acknowledged by engaging experienced practitioners in
a joint learning approach with researchers; (iv) emphasis is placed on inter- and
transdisciplinary research with a strong social component; (v) system approaches
should replace reductionist, traditional approaches; (vi) in order to facilitate
changes in behavior of land managers and owners, mandatory prescriptive
environmental rules and regulations leading to passive management behavior
and exploration of loopholes should be reconsidered. The stimulus should be to
challenge actors in the field by defining clear targets and indicators and time
frames intended to be reached. These should be formulated in interaction with
land users and based on a system of bonus/malus accountability.
In more detail, the following statements elaborate on our recommendations and
specifically illustrate areas where new approaches are proposed.
How can the ambitions of the Mission be made more concrete and be
quantified?
We propose seven focal areas of necessary innovation:
76
1. Change the traditional more static soil paradigm to: Living soils form
the vulnerable skin of the earth, contributing to essential ecosystem
services for mankind
We emphasize the role of soil health in terms of contributing to ecosystem
services that, in turn, contribute to SDGs and the Green Deal.
Live on earth is governed by nature and by the ecosystem services provided by
soils. Modern agriculture and forestry should not be focused only on the
ecosystem service biomass production, but should satisfy the other ecosystem
demands as well. Different scientific disciplines have to combine forces to assess
and improve such services at different spatial levels and realizing soil health is
the best contribution that the soil science discipline can make. Though important,
soils cannot by themselves determine the quality of ecosystem services.
Interdisciplinary research approaches are therefore essential, where soil
scientists are active members of interdisciplinary teams. We advocate a systems
analysis of the entire production system by contributing soil data to and applying
available soil-water-atmosphere-plant simulation models that are already widely
used in agronomy, hydrology, climatology and ecology. We define ecosystem
services as a bundle of performances that support, facilitate and secure all life on
our planet. Soil health we define along this line as: The continued capacity of
a certain type of soil to contribute in providing ecosystem services for all
forms of life, in accordance with the goals of the SDGs and the Green
Deal.
For many years soils have clinically been considered as porous media conducting
water and adsorbing and releasing nutrients. But soils, unseen below the surface
of the earth and therefore unknown to many, are biologically active parts of
dynamic landscapes supporting life in many forms. Soil use is subject to ethical
standards that apply to every living organism. These ideas are not new, but need
increased emphasis and articulation in times of major environmental challenges.
We advocate emphasis on studying the soil biome and applying modern
communication techniques that will offer new, unexplored opportunities for
effective communication and engagement.
2. Advocate for a model that starts with an interactive, joint-learning
approach by stakeholders and researchers focusing on “lighthouses”
and “Living Labs” as seeds for replication
Much research is available on numerous aspects of land use systems. But too
often such research is not implemented because of socio-economic reasons or
because of the complexity of real-world adaptive management. We therefore
suggest to turn the traditional research-chain around and start with identifying
innovative and successful case studies of circular value chains for soil
regeneration that can act as “lighthouses” (‘showcases’) of what is developed and
successfully in practice. Many examples do exist at this point in time! They are
an opportunity to experiment how to produce more with less: a key future societal
77
challenge. Another instrument are ”living Labs” (or try outs) endeavours on field
experiments. This joint-learning approach of all stakeholders, best practices need
to be documented and disseminated since they can act as “seeds” to accelerate
their scale-up and replication through adaptation to the specific local contexts.
The concepts of ”Lighthouses” and ”Living Labs” are not new but our explicit
recommendation above, applying sets of modern sensing and monitoring
methods will deliver the quantitative documentation of ecosystem services as
concrete results. These will be essential to improve communication and
engagement with other land users, the public at large and the political arena.
In order to support land users in their transition towards more sustainable land
use and making soils healthier, it is recommended that a financial mechanism is
in place providing farmers and other land managers with access to long term
loans.
3. We present operational targets and indicators for soil health
We define, in contrast to the state-of-the-art, a simple set of indicators for soil
health and also indicators for a series of ecosystem services mentioned under
point 1.
So far, targets and indicators for the SDG’s - as a point of reference and that is
largely adopted by EUROSTAT and the Green Deal – do not mention soils and
soil health. We therefore propose eight soil-related indicators including two at
the landscape scale (Annex 2). We also propose twenty three indicators which
link the mission with the SDG targets (in accordance with eleven SDG’s, Annex
4) and provide convincing reasons why soil health is important in this context.
We also define operational procedures to quantify the various indicators.
4. We suggest to define new research by filling gaps in knowledge
perceived when applying existing expertise
Much useful data and information on soils and their functioning has been
accumulated in more than hundred years of research. The urgency to face up to
the enormous challenges implies that no time can be lost. When studying soil
contributions to ecosystem services, existing expertise and methodology should
be applied first before new research is initiated. The latter should be focused on
filling gaps in knowledge appearing when applying existing expertise. “Curiosity
driven” interdisciplinary research is needed to fill such gaps.
5. We advise to better link food quality and safety to chemical and
biological soil conditions and processes
A large body of literature has been published on the relation between food quality
and human health. However, much less is known about the relation between food
quality and soil health. It is important to identify suitable and unsuitable soils for
growing various crops or vegetables and to define critical thresholds of chemical
pollutants in soil, such as heavy metals, remnants of pesticides, medicines, drugs
78
and plastics. Soils are not only the positive source of new antibiotics but also a
negative source of organisms that threaten human health. Their occurrence and
development in different types of soil is still largely unknown and needs more
attention. And also pay much more attention to the effects of methods of
conservation, packaging, storage and transportation in the food chain, in relation
to soil health in order to prevent ongoing contamination and waste.
6. We propose to apply systems analysis to explore whether there will
be enough healthy soils in the world by 2050
Currently, there is enough food in the world. Widespread hunger is largely the
result of war, poor distribution or inappropriate governance. But what will be
conditions in 2050 as many soils will become too dry and hot while fertile areas
near rivers and seas may flood due to climate change and sea level rise? How to
feed 10 billion demanding people by 2050? This question remains unanswered at
this time. An exploratory cross-sectorial systems analysis, applying soil-water-
atmosphere-plant simulation models, can indicate which soils are likely to be still
healthy in 2050.
7. Ensure the EU global soil footprint is reduced
Any action in the EU has a positive or negative impact in non-EU countries due
to complex supply chains. We must avoid outcomes which could imply exporting
our problems associated with poor soil health or importing products produced
on unhealthy soils. This observation is particularly relevant in the current health
crisis where international food supply chains are being challenged.
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commercial purposes.
Caring for Soil is Caring for Life” is the title of the mission
proposed by the Soil Health and Food Mission Board.
The mission’s goal is to “ensure that 75% of soils are
healthy or improving by 2030 and are better able to
provide essential ecosystem services”, such as the
provision of food and other biomass,
supporting biodiversity, storing and regulating the flow
of water, or mitigating the effects of climate change. The
target corresponds to a 100% increase of healthy soils
against the current baseline.
This interim report sets out the vision and the blueprint
to reach this ambition through a combination of research
and innovation, training and advice, as well as the
demonstration of good practices for soil management
using “Living labs” and “Lighthouses”. To be successful,
the mission will also improve the monitoring of soil
health and the pressures acting on them, mobilise
investments, and encourage changes in policies.
The mission will be a joint endeavour by stakeholders,
researchers, policy-makers and citizens alike that will
put Europe on a path towards sustainable land and soil
management as part of a wider, green societal transition.
Studies and reports
